A team of police officers have been praised for their "bravery" after they ran into a burning building to help evacuate those inside.

Officers were alerted to a fire that broke out in Walthamstow at around 1.20pm on Sunday June 5.

They heard shouts of a blaze in Erskine Road and rushed to the building which has multiple people living inside.

When they arrived, it was not clear whether everyone had escaped because there were six separate rooms housing different families.

With smoke billowing from a first floor window, officers from the Met's safer neighbourhood and outreach teams, went into the building and began evacuating those still inside.

All of the property's rooms were checked before officers retreated when they were sure no one was still inside.

The London Fire Brigade then arrived to put out the fire.

A number of the officers who responded had been in the area because they were holding a recruitment drive in Walthamstow High Street.

Officers had been in the middle of signing up a member of the public to become a police officer when they heard shouts for help.

Inspector Amy Milton, from the Central Outreach Team, said: "The bravery and selflessness of all the officers involved in this incident highlights the qualities needed to be a police officer. I am so glad that all those inside the building were rescued without injury; something that may not have been possible without the quick thinking of those on the scene.

"In the immediate aftermath the officers provided some of their clothing to keep the elderly residents warm and entertained the children with colouring books and pencils from their recruitment stand – a side of policing you sometimes don’t see.

"It is ironic that officers were in the area, engaging with the public during a recruitment event when an incident like this occurred – there is no better advert for the Met than seeing our officers spring into action and confronting dangerous situations with the safety of the public at the forefront of their thoughts.”