We don't know if our homes are still standing, say fire-hit families

THE scale of the damage caused by the record-breaking heatwave emerged today as Sadiq Khan said the London Fire Brigade had seen its busiest day since the Second World War.

- John Dunne, Ross Lydall and Anthony France

The Mayor said 41 properties had been destroyed and 16 firefighters injured, including two who required hospital treatment, as wildfires were sparked across the "tinder-dry" capital in temperatures rising to 40C-plus.

Residents in the village of Wennington, near Rainham in east London, were this morning trying to establish whether their homes were among as many as 18 feared to have been destroyed yesterday afternoon. A firefighter at the scene said it had been "absolute hell", with the blaze spreading "fast".

One resident, Lary, with his wife Lijana and their daughter Amelija, was among those clustered at police cordons this morning appealing for information. He told the Standard: "We don't know whether our house is still there. There was a gap between us and where the fire was blazing the most, so we have some hope. But it's terrible not knowing. Our lives have been turned upside down. We have been told we cannot go to see because of the risk of gas leaks."

Another resident, Aasam Ahmed, 38, said: "I live in Marine Cottages and I know the homes three or four doors down were destroyed. I have my fingers crossed that ours wasn't.

"I was home yesterday. We just ran out and fled the area. My wife and I are now staying with family. We have let our insurers know and now it's just the waiting game. It's a total shock to be honest."

A third resident said: "I do not know if my house is still standing, I know as much as what you see on TV. We live in hope but there is just so little information."

Emergency services were meeting this morning to determine when it would be safe to allow residents back into the village.

Neighbours laid out food and water for those left homeless.