The roof of a Dagenham home was damaged by a fire.

Firefighters were called to the blaze at a detached house in Keppel Road on Saturday (August 20) at 4pm.

London Fire Brigade received ten calls to the fire, which was brought under control by around 5.45pm.

The blaze was caused by "the failure of a lithium-ion battery in a bin" and is believed to be accidental, a brigade spokesperson said.

Half of the ground and first floor, as well as most of the house's roof were damaged.

Station commander Keith McDermott, who was at the scene, said: “Everyone was safely out of the building on arrival.

“One of the brigade’s 32-metre turntable ladders was used at the scene as a water tower.

“Firefighters worked incredibly hard to contain the fire and swiftly bring it under control.”

The brigade warned that batteries can be a fire risk "when over-charged, short-circuited, submerged in water or if they are damaged".

The spokesperson added: "It’s really important to store, charge and recycle them carefully using a proper battery recycling service."