Smoke seen across London after fire breaks out in shop

A fire has erupted in a shop under flats in Hackney, east London, sending huge plumes of smoke across the capital.

The fire on Hackney Road broke out at around 7.50am and burned for nearly an hour before it was extinguished.

Footage shows thick smoke rising from the roof of a penthouse in the same building as the Looking Glass Cocktail Club.

The fire brigade confirmed to Metro that the blaze was at a ‘shop with flats above’.

Social media users said they could see the tower of smoke from as far away as Blackheath, south east London.

A witness told Metro: ‘Didn’t seem like much from far away but got much worse.

‘I was cycling down there. Hope everyone is okay too, looks pretty awful.’

People have been urged to avoid the area this morning.

Traffic has been shut in both directions between the junction of Shoreditch High Street and Cremer Street.

Bus routes 26 and 55 are under diversion.

The cause of the fire is unknown.

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