AROUND 20 firefighters tackled a blaze in a flat in Bow last yesterday evening (Thursday). Flames were coming out of the windows of the ground floor flat in Merchant Street when firefighters from Bow, Bethnal Green and Poplar fire stations arrived at 7.30

AROUND 20 firefighters tackled a blaze in a flat in Bow last yesterday evening (Thursday).

Flames were coming out of the windows of the ground floor flat in Merchant Street when firefighters from Bow, Bethnal Green and Poplar fire stations arrived at 7.30pm.

Nobody was in the flat when the fire started.

Watch manager Kevin Welch said: "It was already well alight when we got there; it had gone up very quickly.

"The neighbours thought that there might have been someone inside but luckily they were out at the time.

"The windows had failed and there were flames coming out of the flat. A neighbour had seen the smoke and the flames and had alerted the fire brigade.

"Once we were there we got it under control within a couple of minutes and prevented it from spreading to any other flats."

A spokesman for the Brigade said that around three quarters of the flat, which is in a four storey building, was damaged.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.