Suspected arson attack at restaurant hospitalises five

Three people are in a life-threatening condition after a suspected arson attack at a restaurant in Ilford, east London, police said.

- JORDAN REYNOLDS

Police, paramedics and firefighters were called to the scene in Woodford Avenue, Gants Hill, at around 9pm on Friday where part of the ground floor was damaged by fire. Crews rescued five people from the restaurant, while nine others got out beforehand, the London Fire Brigade said.

Five people – three women and two men – who were injured were treated at the scene by paramedics and taken to hospital where they remain. Three of the five are in a life-threatening condition, the Metropolitan Police added.

No arrests have been made and the cause of the blaze is being investigated by firefighters and the Met.

A local resident described the aftermath of the incident. Hospital porter Edward Thawe, 43, stepped outside his nearby home with his 12-year-old son to see if he could help after hearing screaming.

The police and ambulance service were already at the scene of the fire, which Mr Thawe described as “horrible” and “the sort of thing that you don’t want to look at twice”. He said he thought one man who was on the street and a woman who was also outside may have been customers. Mr Thawe added that the man’s “whole body was burnt”.