Around 60 people had to be evacuated from their homes in west London this afternoon following a fire which came within a few yards of dozens of homes.

Ten fire engines and around 70 firefighters, including crews from Southall fire station, were called to deal with the blaze behind Hereford Road in the neighbouring London borough of Hounslow, which involved decking, trees, hedgerows and shrubs.

Crews have removed a number of cylinders which were involved in the fire as some cylinders can explode when exposed to heat.

Station Commander Tamer Ozdemir, who is at the scene, said: "Firefighters have worked incredibly hard in hot, arduous conditions to stop the blaze spreading to nearby properties.

"Their hard work has saved approximately 30 homes in Hereford Road.

"Around 60 residents were evacuated due to the amount of smoke.

"Our drone team is on scene assisting crews with identifying further hot spots in the surrounding woodland."

The Brigade's 999 Control Officers took 44 calls to the blaze.

The Brigade was called at 4,35pm and fire crews from Hillingdon, Kingston, Southall, Surbiton, Tooting and surrounding fire stations are at the scene.

The cause of the fire is not known at this stage.

Author Robert Harris posted a video of the blaze as the plane he was on came into land at Heathrow.