Notting Hill fire: Blaze breaks out in London tower block near Grenfell

A fire has broken out in a block of flats near Grenfell Tower.

Ten fire engines and around 70 firefighters are on the scene of the blaze in Notting Hill.

Footage showed smoke rising from a flat, with Grenfell Tower seen in the background, as sirens can be heard approaching.

The London Fire Brigade said a balcony on the 12th floor of the building, in Darfield Way, was alight.

"Crews are speaking to residents to reassure them," a spokesperson added.

"The Brigade's 999 control officers have taken 27 calls to the incident. The Brigade was called at 11.39am. Fire crews from North Kensington, Kensington, Fulham, Park Royal, Chelsea, West Hampstead, Soho, Hammersmith and Chiswick fire stations are at the scene."

The cause of the fire is not yet known.

The Grenfell Tower fire, which killed 72 people in June 2017, sparked scrutiny of fire safety and construction materials in the UK.

The inferno was started by a fridge-freezer on the fouth floor but spread rapidly up the building's exterior cladding.