The emergency services have declared that the cause of a fire at a shop with flats above in Bromley in the early hours of this morning was “believed to be deliberate”.

It took four fire engines and around 25 firefighters more than an hour to bring the fire on Beckenham Lane under control.

According to the London Fire Brigade, “A large amount of rubbish at the rear of the property was destroyed by fire, and the ground floor was partially damaged by the blaze.

“Four adults were led to safety by firefighters from the first-floor balcony, assisted by a short extension ladder. There were no injuries.”

The Brigade was called just before 0.20am and the fire was under control by 1.29am.

Crews from Bromley, Beckenham and Woodside fire stations attended the scene.

“The cause of the fire is believed to be deliberate,” the LFB said in a statement.

FREE ADS: Paid-up subscribers to Inside Croydon qualify for a free ad for their business, residents’ association or community group, just one of the benefits of being part of our online community. For more information about being an iC subscriber, click here for our Patreon page

PAID ADS: To advertise your services or products to our near 10,000 weekday visitors to the site, which is featured on Google News Showcase and followed by 16,000 on Twitter/X, email us inside.croydon@btinternet.com for our unbeatable ad rates

Inside Croydon – If you want real journalism, delivering real news, from a publication that is actually based in the borough, please consider paying for it. Sign up today: click here for more details

• If you have a news story about life in or around Croydon, or want to publicise your residents’ association or business, or if you have a local event to promote, please email us with full details at inside.croydon@btinternet.com

• As featured on Google News Showcase

• We offer FREE ads to community groups when they have members who are paid subscribers to Inside Croydon

• Our comments section on every report provides all readers with an immediate “right of reply” on all our content. Our comments policy can be read by clicking here

• Inside Croydon is a member of the Independent Community News Network

• Inside Croydon works together with the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, as well as BBC London News and ITV London

• ROTTEN BOROUGH AWARDS: In January 2024, Croydon was named among the country’s rottenest boroughs for a SEVENTH successive year in the annual round-up of civic cock-ups in Private Eye magazine