Nine people were trapped in a Barkingside house fire after the blaze started under the staircase.

Firefighters with breathing apparatus had to enter the burning building in Forest Road to rescue an elderly woman in her 70s.

A woman jumped out a first floor window and another person was found trying to escape from a flat roof at the rear of the property.

Two young children aged three and one were lowered from the upper windows as the staircase burned and firefighters used ladders to get the remaining four adults to safety.

A London Ambulance Service spokesman said the woman in her 70s was taken to Whipps Cross Hospital, Leytonstone, as a priority for smoke inhalation.

Two children aged three and one, an elderly man and two women in their 30s were also taken to hospital for smoke inhalation, but only as a precaution.

The first and ground floors of the house were severely damaged by the fire, which is believed to have started under a staircase around 9.30am.

Around 20 firefighters from Ilford, Hainault and Woodford fought for hours to bring the fire under control.

The ground, first floor and staircase of the house were alight.

Hainault Fire Station watch manager Tom Edwards said: “They were lucky that it was in the daytime and everyone was awake.

“There was only one fire alarm in the house and being a large place it needed at least three or four.”

The fire is not being treated as suspicious. The cause is being investigated.

The London Fire Brigade fits smoke detectors for free and can give fire prevention advice.

Visit www.london-fire.gov.uk to arrange a home visit.