Over 35 people have been rescued by firefighters after a fire broke out on the fourth floor of a block of flats in North Kensington.

London Fire Brigade were called to the scene at Appleford Road, North Kensington at 8.54am on Saturday October 31.

Eight fire engines from North Kensington, Willesden, Kensington and Chelsea and Paddington fire station were at the scene.

Crews rescued two people from two balconies with a ladder and led the rest to safety through the building.

Station manager Jim smith, who was at the scene, said: "A flat on the fourth floor was completely alight and smoke was pouring from a window.

"Control officers did a brilliant job keeping residents calm and ensuring those who were trapped or couldn't move were in the safest place while firefighters reached them. Crews worked quickly to bring the fire under control and rescue 35 people."

16 people were taken to hospital as a precaution.

Control operations manager, Liz Hymns, said: "Our job is to keep people calm and make sure they are in the safest possible place. We took nine fire survival calls during this incident, we gave residents reassurance and made sure they were in the safest place. For example in one call, a woman couldn't move from the back bedroom but we got her to describe the layout of her flat so that when firefighters arrived they knew exactly how to find her.

"Obviously, when you speak to people in this situation they are scared and looking for reassurance. It's the most amazing feeling in the world to hear to the relief in their voices when they hear firefighters breaking into their flat and they know they are going to be rescued."

Around 60 firefighters attended the blaze which is now said to be under control.

The cause of the fire is not yet known at this stage and is being investigated.