THREE people had to be rescued from their homes by firefighters after a blaze broke out in a block of flats.

A fire started in the basement of the building in Baker Road, Woolwich at 7.30pm on Friday.

It spread up to the sixth floor leading to 40 people being evacuated.

A man and a woman were rescued from the third and fourth floors. Another woman was saved from the fifth floor using a hydraulic platform.

They were treated for smoke inhalation in nearby hospitals.

It took 30 firefighters four hours to get the fire under control.

The incident is now under investigation.