An e-bike owner and six others are lucky to be alive after its battery caught fire as it was charging while he was asleep.

London Fire Brigade was called to the "terrifying" blaze at a third floor bedsit in Abbey Road, at around 2.45am on Monday morning (July 29).

All seven people in the flat were asleep when the e-bike owner was woken by the battery making a crackling noise in his bedroom.

The owner managed to remove the battery from his room, but placed it in a communal stairwell, blocking a fire escape route.

Station officer Steve Duffy was at the scene. He said putting the battery in the stairwell was “not ideal” - it blocked an escape route and completely destroyed a neighbour's front dood.

But he added that if the battery had exploded in the bedroom, the other inhabitants could have been seriously injured.

The home had no smoke alarms. Station officer Duffy said it was "pure chance" that the owner heard the noise.

Two people left the flat before firefighters arrived, and five remained inside.

He added: “This would have been a terrifying incident for all involved and it is incredibly lucky that no lives have been lost.

"This incident shows how important working smoke alarms are throughout a property.”

Around 10 firefighters were at the scene for almost two hours, with the incident brought under control shortly before 4.30am.

The fire destroyed part of the bedsit, as well as a neighbour’s front door. 

Station officer Duffy said: “This fire is yet another example in London of the dangers e-bikes and e-scooters can pose if the battery fails catastrophically and catches fire.

“Our advice is to store and charge these items in a location away from where people live, such as in a shed or a garage, and if they have to be stored inside, make sure there is smoke detection fitted, it’s kept it in a room where you can shut a door and contain a fire and your means of escape is not obstructed.

“The man who attempted to move the battery is lucky not to be seriously hurt.

“Fires involving lithium batteries, which power these vehicles, can be ferocious, producing jets of flame. Our advice is to get away to safety and call 999.” 

Last year, three people died and around 60 people were hurt in e-bike and e-scooter related fires in London. In total, 170 fires of this nature were reported.