A discarded cigarette was the cause of a fire that saw part of a house badly damaged.
The still alight cigarette is thought to have rolled into a wicker basket before catching fire to the living room, leaving 15 per cent of the ground floor of the home wrecked by fire yesterday.
An elderly lady who was thought to be living in the home in Pinley Gardens, Dagenham, but was not there when the blaze broke out at around midday.
Watch Manager Jason Oliff said: “There was a lot of thick black smoke. We could see the flames through the front window — there was am orangey glow inside.
“The fire started in the living room and seems to have been caused by careless disposal of a cigarette. that was found in a wicker basket.”
Firefighters were on the scene for close to three-and-a-half hours, taking 45 minutes to extinguish the flames.
Two fire engines from Barking and one fro Dagenham attended. No other properties were damaged.
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