Thugs slash tyres of police car called to help save lives in fire in north London

Knife thugs slashed the tyres of a police car in north London which was called to help save lives in a flat fire.

Officers were working with firefighters at a flat fire “trying to ensure nobody was inside or injured” when two of their tyres were slashed in nearby Mulkern Road.

A police spokesperson has now condemned the thoughtless actions of the thugs, which they said has limited the policing resources available to the borough.

“The car is now off the road,” the spokesperson wrote alongside #unacceptable. “[It is] reducing the emergency policing response we can provide in Camden and Islington.”

Speaking to the Standard, Camden police added: "The London Fire Brigade crew also said they thought that the young lads hanging around were also trying to steal from their appliances.

"So one of the firemen had to go back and sit in it, meaning they couldn’t work with the other firemen."

The officers joined 25 firefighters and four fire engines at the flat fire in St John’s Way, Archway, where a first and second floor of a four-storey block were damaged by the blaze.

Fire crews from Walthamstow, Hornsey and West Hampstead took nearly an hour to bring the fire under control after it first broke out at around 12.54pm on Monday.

There were no reports of any injuries, London Fire Brigade said.

The spokesperson added: “A maisonette on the first and second floor of a four-storey block were damaged by the fire. The Brigade was called at 12.54pm and the fire was under control by 1.39pm.

“The cause of the fire is believed to be damage to a cable which led to electrics arcing.”