EIGHT people fled to safety as a fire seriously damaged a flat in a converted house.

Crews were called to Ingleby Road in Ilford to find the ground floor flat in the terraced house alight.

Two men, two women and three children had already left the first floor flat before firefighters arrived, while a woman who fled the ground floor flat had to be treated for smoke inhalation before being taken to hospital.

Officers were called at 10.45pm on Friday, January 14, and had the fire under control by just before midnight.

Four engines and around 20 officers from Ilford, Stratford and East Ham stations attended.

The cause of the fire is still being investigated.