CCTV shows barefoot Grenfell tenant fleeing fire that started in his flat after alerting neighbours and calling 999

CCTV showing the tenant of the flat where the Grenfell Tower fire started fleeing the building barefoot have been shown to a public inquiry.

Behailu Kebede, 45, was woken by the sound of his smoke alarm shortly before 1am on June 14, and found white smoke billowing from behind his fridge-freezer.

He alerted his two female housemates, Elsa Afeworki and Almaz Kinfu, before knocking on every door of the neighbouring flats on the block's fourth floor and then rushing outside.

The resident is also pictured pleading with fellow residents, trying to usher them out of the building.

Security footage stills shown at the inquiry into the disaster on Thursday pictured Ms Afeworki walking down the stairs into the main lobby at approximately 12.56am, two minutes after the first 999 call.

She is followed at around 12.58am by Mr Kebede, who is seen wearing just a T-shirt and a pair of trousers, but no shoes.

Within two minutes, the first firefighter is seen entering the building.

Witness statements given by Mr Kebede - an Ethiopian Uber driver who had lived in the west London block for around 25 years - were read to the hearing.

In the aftermath of the blaze, Mr Kebede was accused of packing a suitcase before leaving Grenfell Tower, but the new footage confirms his version of events - that he left barefoot and tried to rush others with suitcases out of the building. 

For the first time, sections of his 999 call at 12.54am were translated from Amharic, during which he could be heard telling someone: "Grab it and leave, just leave. What kind of person is she?"

Counsel to the inquiry Richard Millett told the inquiry at Holborn Bars that Mr Kebede said these words were directed to Ms Kinfu, who had left carrying a suitcase.

Mr Kebede said in a later police statement: "I was a bit annoyed because I saw her with a heavy suitcase and I wanted everyone to leave immediately and no-one else had brought luggage."

During a lengthy statement of truth to the inquiry, dated June 1 2018, the former resident said he had complained about the quality of a window refit now blamed for fire's spread.

Mr Kebede and nearly "everyone" in Grenfell Tower had been concerned about the quality of a recent refurbishment and had raised the issue with both the council and their MP.

His kitchen window was replaced during the work, which "caused problems" as "air was entering my flat through these gaps" around the frame.

Builders were sent around who "put sealant in the gaps". On Wednesday, the inquiry heard that this sealant was flammable.

Experts believe the inferno on June 14 escaped through gaps around Mr Kebede's window on to the external facade.

Mr Kebede, however, said he had "no idea" that "highly flammable cladding" had been installed on the outside of the building.

He had moved to the UK in 1990, was joined by his two brothers in 1991, and was offered a flat in Grenfell Tower soon afterwards

His statement said: "It is difficult to explain just how happy I was to move into Flat 16 in Grenfell Tower with my younger brothers."

Mr Kebede became friends with many Eritreans and Ethiopians in the building, which, he said, was a multicultural "melting pot".

Eventually his siblings moved out and, by the time of the fire, he was living with two women who had needed a place to stay, leaving him sleeping on a mattress in the living room.

He bought the fridge-freezer around which the fire is thought to have started several years earlier for around £275 new, his statement said.

On the night of the fire, Mr Kebede heard no explosions and saw no flames in his flat.

His statement said: "While I was standing outside I saw the fire get bigger and bigger."

He phoned a friend and then left the scene, but felt compelled to return later in the night as he had many friends inside Grenfell Tower, according to his evidence.

The statement continued: "We walked back to the tower on foot. When I got there the whole tower was engulfed by an inferno on all four sides. It was terrifying. It was much worse than before."