A FAMILY of four escaped a fire which took place in the early hours of this morning ( September 28).

Four fire engines and around 25 firefighters were called to a fire on Veals Mead at 4.36 am.

A man, a woman, and two children managed to escape the property before the Brigade arrived.

The flat was fitted with a smoke alarm which alerted the family to the fire.

They were assessed by London Ambulance Service crews and was taken to hospital suffering smoke inhalation.

A small area of one of the bedrooms was damaged by the fire.

Leading Firefighter Steve Millea, who was at the scene, said: “Candles are one of the most common causes of fire in the home. In this case, it was left to burn as the family inside the property slept.

"The smoke alarm did its job and warned the occupants that a fire had broken out - which is very fortunate as this fire happened in the middle of the night and could have been a lot worse.

"It is vital that you have working smoke alarms in every room where a fire can start."