London Fire Brigade (LFB) has revealed how a serious fire thought to have broken out at student halls at Brunel University in Uxbridge started.

Ten fire engines and around 70 firefighters were called to a building part of the Lancaster Complex , on Kingston Lane, at 4.07pm on Tuesday (October 9).

Firefighters battled flames on the third floor of the building for three hours , and had the fire under control at 7.07pm.

About 50 people fled the building before firefighters arrived, and there were no reports of any injuries.

After the blaze, LFB has said they now believe the cause of the fire to be “accidental and due to an electrical fault”.

Black, thick smoke rages from a window

It was already known that an extraction system cupboard on the first, second and third floors of the building was damaged by fire.

Videos and images posted on social media at the time of the blaze showed thick, black smoke raging out of one window.

Smoke could also be seen billowing through the air for at least an hour, and one student returning from a day out told getwestlondon she worried if the fire started in her room.

Officers from the Metropolitan Police Service were also called, and the force has since confirmed the fire is “not reported to be suspicious”.

Smoke can be seen billowing in the air

'I did worry if it was in my room. I hope everyone is alright'

Venetia Abrahamian, first year student reading psychology at the university, was in Uxbridge at the time the fire broke out but returned to find fire engines on the campus.

The 18-year-old said: “The first thing I thought of was I hope everyone is OK. I did worry if it was in my room. I hope everyone is alright.”

One man, who did not wished to be named, was at the campus moments after the fire and told getwestlondon at 5pm: “I was just coming through campus and there is a fair amount of fire brigade activity still.

“There are a lot of students just hanging around the halls and there are a lot of security guys, police and a police helicopter overhead.

A cordon had been erected at Brunel University

“The cordon was fairly wide so I couldn’t get that close but it [the fire] is coming from one of the back halls. Someone told me it started small but then spread.”

Brunel has confirmed that no one was injured in the blaze, and has said alternative accommodation has been found for those living in the Borough Road Hall side of the Lancaster Complex.

To see how the incident unfolded visit out live blog here .