A PET iguana was killed when the thermostat on its heat lamp broke, sparking a house fire.

The blaze broke out at the terraced house in Coopers Lane, Leyton, at around 4.10pm yesterday (Tuesday May 8).

The owners of the pet were out at the time and all the fire alarms in the house were faulty.

A neighbour spotted smoke from the blaze and alerted fire-fighters, who rushed to the scene and managed to bring it under control by 5pm.

It caused extensive damage to the building's ground floor.

A fire brigade spokesman said: "If you've got smoke alarms, please test them regularly to make sure they work.

"There were two alarms inside this house but neither was working.

"Had the smoke alarms worked, someone might have noticed the fire sooner. As it was, the fire was quite bad when our crews arrived and there was significant damage."

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