A DISTRAUGHT woman was restrained by police and firefighters as she watched helplessly as her three-storey Kensington home was gutted by fire.

More than 72 fire crew with 10 tenders battled with the early morning blaze for four hours after successfully evacuating nearby homes in Campden Grove.

Fire broke out in the empty property just after 6am on Tuesday. Some time later a woman, believed to be the owner, was being restrained by police and firefighters, to stop her running into the building.

Housekeeper Ronda Challoy who lives in the adjacent property with her eight-year-old daughter Arlette fled through the back garden while her husband, Alan, and the owner of the house, Alasdair Nagle, rescued two dogs and three cats from the property. A cat, Bliss, remains missing.

Mr Challoy said: "We woke to smoke, so I looked out to see the boarding, which is very close to our window, on fire. I immediately got my wife Ronda and our daughter Arlette out into the garden while I went back in to check the house and get the animals and Alasdair out.

"When I went out of the front of the house, the heat hit us and debris was coming down everywhere. The fireman were helping my wife and daughter across the gardens at the back of the houses, but my daughter was crying, shouting for her daddy because she had not seen me come out of the front.

"We were all very scared because it was a huge blaze which went from top to the bottom of the building."

Mr Nagle, 52, a banker, was full of praise for the firefighters and the way they battled to stop it spreading to neighbouring homes.

"It was terrifying," he said. "We ran around collecting the animals and fled as quickly as we could. The Kensington fire engine was there in, literally, minutes. They were fantastic. The blaze was fierce and growing rapidly, so every minute was precious. I have no idea how they managed to contain such a huge blaze in such a built-up area, but they did a fantastic job."

It is believed the house had renovation work in progress over the past six months, shortly after it was bought by the current owners.

London Fire Brigade station manager Rhodri Horton, who was at the scene, said: “Crews were faced with a rapidly developing fire affecting the whole of a three-storey house under refurbishment.

The fire is being investigated.