Blaze: Twenty people fled the block of flats in Marine Drive

Firefighters were called to a kitchen fire believed to be caused by a child playing with the buttons on a cooker.

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Crews from Harold Hill fire station were called to the blaze in Copperfields Way, Harold Wood at around 10.30pm yesterday (Thursday February 2).

When firefighters arrrived at the scene a woman and a two-year-old girl had already left the property.

The fire is believed to have started by the child playing with the buttons on the cooker.

A spokesman for the London Fire Brigade said: “My only advice would be to install a gate at the entrance of the kitchen.

“In this case the child had clearly seen the mum switching on the cooker and copied her without realising the risks.”

Around 10% of the kitchen has been damaged by the blaze.