A major incident has been declared in London after a “huge surge” in fires across the capital on the UK’s hottest-ever day.

Mayor Sadiq Khan said the London Fire Brigade (LFB) is “under immense pressure” as he urged people to be safe, adding the situation is “critical”.

Dozens of fire engines and hundreds of firefighters have been involved in tackling at least 10 blazes.

Elsewhere in the UK, the Leicestershire fire and rescue service has also declared a major incident in the county “due to high demand”, adding: “We will not be attending automatic fire alarms. Please only call us if it’s an emergency.”

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In a village on the outskirts of east London, several houses were destroyed after fires broke out.

LFB has sent 15 fire engines and about 100 firefighters to Wennington to deal with blazes which covered a number of buildings and adjoining grassland.

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Aerial footage showed smoke covering the village in Greater London and approaching a historic church.

Nearby fields were completely scorched and burning intensely. It is not known if anybody was hurt in the incident.

London Fire Brigade tweeted: “We’ve got 15 fire engines and around 100 firefighters dealing with this blaze on The Green in Wennington.”

The homes were burning close to a fire station in Wennington – a small village that has a population reported to be around 300 people.

Eyewitness Pierre L’Aimable said the fire was “immense… there was so much black smoke in the air”.

He told Sky News: “There are horse stables nearby and we saw those horses being evacuated, and people being evacuated. There are loads of animals being saved.”

He added: “A lot of people who were evacuated were standing on the side of the road. You could see a lot of them were near the fire because there was black on their chests so they were very close to it. A lot of them were distressed unfortunately.”

It has been the hottest day on record in the UK, with provisional Met Office figures showing the temperature hit 40.2C (104.3F) at Heathrow Airport and also later in Coningsby, Lincolnshire, beating the previous record of 38.7C (101.66F) registered in Cambridge three years ago.

As well as the major fire in Wennington, there are also a number of other blazes today elsewhere in the capital:

• Thirty fire engines are dealing with a grass fire on Pea Lane in Upminster
• Twelve fire engines are tackling a fire involving garden fencing and trees on Uxbridge Road in Pinner
• Ten fire engines are attending a restaurant fire on Green Lanes in Southgate
• Eight fire engines are tackling a grass fire on Oaks Road in Croydon
• Eight fire engines are dealing with a grass fire on Ballards Road in Dagenham
• Eight fire engines are attending a fire on The Broadway in Wembley
• Six fire engines are tackling a grass fire on Sunningfields Crescent in Hendon
• Four fire engines are dealing with a grass fire on Chapel View in Croydon
• Four fire engines are attending a fire on Sidcup Road in Eltham.

Mr Khan tweeted: “London Fire Brigade has just declared a major incident in response to a huge surge in fires across the capital today. This is critical: London Fire Brigade is under immense pressure.

“Please be safe. I’m in touch with the Commissioner and will share updates when I have them.”

He also urged people: “Don’t barbecue on grass or balconies, don’t leave broken bottles or glass on the grass (it can start fires), dispose of cigarettes safely, and report a fire as soon as you see one.

“Don’t take risks. Stay safe in the heat.”

The London Ambulance Service said its crews were “responding to a number of fire incidents across London including at Rainham and Wembley”.

“We have a number of resources on scene including ambulance crews and our Hazardous Response teams. We are treating patients on scene.”

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