The London Fire Brigade (LFB) has U-turned over a blaze in the basement of a residential tower block, saying it now believes it was an accident.

Firefighters were dispatched to the Dorney block in Adelaide Road, Swiss Cottage, on April 8 last year.

Rubbish in the building’s basement bin store was reported to be ablaze.

But even though it was suggested somebody had already tried to set light to the refuse, the brigade had previously said the cause of the fire was “undetermined” and that it would not conduct any further investigation.

But it now says it did investigate the incident, which occurred at the Dorney block on Camden’s Chalcots estate on Saturday, April 8.

In a revised statement sent to the Ham&High, it has now said: “The rubbish fire in the stairwell of a block of flats on Adelaide Road on April 8 is believed to have been accidental and caused by a cigarette.”

The brigade is also conducting a fire safety audit of the block – one of five which were evacuated in 2017 after a previous inspection uncovered a litany of fire hazards.

Camden Council said last week that it was reviewing CCTV as part of its own investigation into the cause.