Firefighters are tackling a blaze at a block of flats in south-east London.

Plumes of smoke could be seen billowing from the tower block in Deptford on Wednesday evening.

The London Fire Brigade (LFB) said 12 fire engines and around 80 firefighters had been called to the scene on Childers Street.

Half of a flat on the top floor of a six-storey block and half of the roof are alight.

Station Commander Emma Carr, who is at the scene, said: “Two people left the affected flat and firefighters evacuated the rest of the block as a precaution due to the amount of smoke.

“There are no reports of any injuries at this stage.

“This is a challenging incident due to the fire being in a roof hatch and firefighters are working hard to bring it under control.

“Aerial ladder platforms are being used to tackle the blaze in the roof from height.”

Firefighters were alerted at 7.26pm and 34 calls were made to the control room.

Local resident Agnes Agyepong said: “I turned the corner towards Childers Street and saw residents and bystanders standing out on the street.

“When I looked up I saw the top of the block of flats engulfed in flames.

“Thick black smoke was coming out as well.

“Children were witnessing this.

“Ashes were blowing in the street.”

Ms Agyepong said: “The mood was very sombre… people could not believe that they are on lockdown, and now this has happened on top of everything else.”

Fire crews from the south London districts of Deptford, New Cross, Greenwich, Old Kent Road, Lewisham and surrounding fire stations are at the scene.

A LFB spokesman said: “The cause of the fire is not known at this stage.”

A London Ambulance Service spokesman, who said they were called at 8.33pm, added: “We sent an incident response officer and an ambulance crew to the scene. We also dispatched our hazardous area response team.”