An apartment block which went up in flames in Hounslow was being built as part of a housing scheme for the council.

In the aftermath of the fire on New Heston Road on Saturday (September 3), 28 buyers of the shared ownership flats in Block B of the new housing development will no longer be able to move into their new homes as expected in November.

In fact, it is still unclear to Hounslow council when the damage will be repaired and therefore when the building can be occupied.

The London Fire Brigade said the cause of the Heston fire is still under investigation.

It took around 60 firefighters more than three hours to bring the fire under control where the roof and part of the building was destroyed in the blaze.

Just days earlier, a fire destroyed grassland near Bedfont Lakes .

Watch as Feltham firefighters attend to the blaze

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Councillor Katherine Dunne, cabinet member for housing at Hounslow Council, said: “A fire broke out at Block B of the new housing development under construction at Heston Road in the early hours of Saturday (September 3). This building comprises 28 flats for shared ownership.

“The roof was destroyed by the fire and extensive damage has been caused to the building. Fortunately, no one was injured, and the site has now been secured.

“Shared ownership buyers had been expecting to move in at the end of November. This will not now be possible.

"At this stage it is unclear when the damage can be repaired and the building occupied.”

The flats were among 220 new homes approved as part of a deal to build the new Heston Pools and Fitness leisure centre , which opened at the beginning of the year.

A fire in the same road claimed the lives of two people in 2013 , including a woman who died leaping from a second-floor window.