In pictures: 11 photos showing the destruction caused by the Wennington fire during heatwave

More than a dozen families have been left homeless after a fire tore through the small village of Wennington, on the outskirts of east London, on Tuesday amid the UK’s record breaking 40C heatwave.

As many as 41 homes were destroyed across London yesterday - nearly half of which were gutted in Wennington alone.

15 fire engines and around 100 firefighters were called to the east London village to tackle the huge blaze where 40 hectares of grassland, farm buildings, houses and garages were destroyed.

The London Fire Brigade (LFB) said that two detached houses, two semi-detached houses, two rows of terraced houses, two outbuildings, six single-storey garages, 12 stables and five cars were ruined by the blaze.

This was one of a number of fires which broke out across the capital on the hottest day on record, as the LFB declared a major incident.

Black smoke billowed into the air as the blaze spread, while a rescue centre for residents was set up.

The Wennington fire occurred on the busiest day the London Fire Brigade had tackled since the Second World War, which saw 16 firefighters injured in the carnage.