Sutton house fire: Four young boys die in south London house blaze

Four young boys have died in a house fire in Sutton, south London.

The children, two sets of twins aged three and four, were given immediate CPR by firefighters called to Collingwood Road on Thursday at 18:55 GMT.

They were given treatment until ambulance crews arrived and taken to two separate hospitals, where they were pronounced dead.

London Fire Brigade (LFB) said the children had been left at home alone.

No arrests have been made, and the cause of the fire is unknown, the Met Police has said.

LFB Commissioner Andy Roe said the deaths had "left everyone numb with profound sadness".

Sixty firefighters battled an "intense" blaze throughout the entire ground floor of the mid-terrace property, LFB added.

After finding the children inside the house, crews brought them outside where they were given "immediate emergency care".

The London Ambulance Service (LAS) said a "number of resources" were sent to the scene including ambulance crews, advanced paramedics.

Trauma teams from London's Air Ambulance and Air Ambulance Kent Surrey Sussex were also dispatched.

LAS' Brian Jordan told BBC Breakfast: "We had a whole range of our resources there to try and do everything we could to save the children.

"All of our crews are trained to deal with situations like this, but these kinds of situations will obviously be affecting them very hard.

"We will obviously provide all the support to them that we can. I think it's very difficult at this time of year as we approach Christmas and that makes it much more poignant as well."

The blaze was under control by 20:36 and the cause is now under investigation.

Police said the children's next of kin were aware of their deaths and are due to be given specialist support.

The force added that road closures were in force as emergency services remained at the scene, and that officers would be "working through the night and beyond".

Supt Rob Shepherd said: "At this very early stage the cause of the fire is unknown and will be investigated."

Louisa Pilbeam, BBC News

Police aren't saying too much at this stage, the cause of the fire is not known and it is being investigated.

What we know is that four children have died in a terraced house in this residential area here in Sutton.

We have been speaking to police officers who have been here with us all night and they've said this sort of thing has had a profound affect on the community.

It is believed that all of the children are under five years old.