Firefighters have issued a warning about stacking hot washing after a fire broke out in a dry cleaners.

The blaze began in a clothing bin on the ground floor of a dry cleaners in West Green Road, South Tottenham, last night (May 30).

The London Fire Brigade (LFB) was called at 9.38pm and led eight people to safety from the flats above. There were no reports of any injuries.

Fire crews from Tottenham, Stoke Newington and Walthamstow fire stations attended the scene and had the blaze under control by 10.15pm.

A LFB spokesperson said that the fire is being treated as accidental, and is believed to have been caused by self-heating textiles.

They also issued a warning to always use a cool cycle after drying clothes to prevent these kind of fires.

The spokesperson said: “These types of fires often involve textiles that become contaminated with oil, most commonly linseed, massage and cooking oil on tea towels, tablecloths and chef's whites.

"Sometimes when materials are cleaned, put in tumble dryers and then folded and stacked, the heat from the tumble drying cannot escape. This can result in a high enough temperature allowing it to build up to a point where it smoulders and eventually ignites.

“If you are washing and then drying on a hot cycle, always use the cooling cycle on the tumble dryer so it cools down and allow the heat to dissipate properly, before stacking laundered items together.”