Friend of One Direction’s Liam Payne rushed to hospital after fire at singer’s Canary Wharf flat

A friend of One Direction’s Liam Payne was rushed to hospital after a fire broke out in the singer’s Canary Wharf flat on Monday night.

Liam Payne was at home wih friends on the 34th floor of a luxury block of flats when the blaze started on the balcony.

Six fire engines and 35 firefighters were dispatched after an emergency call was made at 9.48pm.

About 30 people had already fled the building uninjured by the time the fire crews arrived.

But a man and woman were taken to hospital for burns to their hands and a second man had burns to his hands and his face.

A spokesman for Payne said he had managed to escape unharmed but his best friend Andy Samuels has been named as the friend who suffered burns to his hands and face.

On Twitter, #prayforandy was trending and Andy’s girlfriend Daisie Smith confirmed in a tweet that he was in a stable condition.

The cause of the fire, which caused severe damage to the balcony of the flat, is now under investigation by the London Fire Brigade.

Station manager Laurie Kenny said the fire crews worked quickly and professionally and had the fire under control by 10.34pm.