Four flee as candles spark blaze drama

FOUR people fled to safety when they woke in the middle of the night to find their home in East London on fire—caused by novelty candles. They were woken at 3.30am today when the blaze broke out at their maisonette above a shop

FOUR people fled to safety when they woke in the middle of the night to find their home in East London on fire-caused by candles.

The man and three women were woken at 3.30am today when the blaze broke out at their maisonette above a shop in Cheshire Street, Bethnal Green.

Novelty candles used as 'floating lights' were left in their small metal containers directly on a tablecloth instead of in a bowl of water.

The containers overheated and ignited the cloth in one of the women's bedroom-but she woke up in time and alerted her flatmates. All four got to safety before the fire-brigade arrived and were unharmed.

The woman's bedroom was totally gutted and there was some smoke damage in other rooms in the three-storey maisonette.