Three children have been taken to hospital after a fire ripped through a three-storey block of flats in north London.

About 70 firefighters tackled the blaze at the building in Maybury Close, Enfield, where the entire roof and most of the second floor were on fire.

The London Fire Brigade (LFB) said 14 people had left the building before its crews arrived and the children were suffering from the effects of smoke inhalation.

The LFB said it received the first of more than a dozen calls about the blaze at 05:19 BST, and crews were deployed from several stations across north London as well as from Hertfordshire.

Vicky Gardner, who lives near the flats, told BBC News: “I was leaving the house to walk my dogs at 5:15, when I noticed that there were flames coming from the flats at the end of the street.

“A neighbour from number 23 then went and banged on the doors to alert the residents. They evacuated and the fire brigade turned up.”

She said that on Sunday the LFB and police responded to a fire alert in the same block of flats “that turned out to be false”.

Ms Gardner added: “[It’s] really horrible for the residents, those poor people have lost everything.”