Three fire trucks, police and an ambulance were on the scene as a fire engulfed a third floor flat in South Ockendon.

Firefighters were seen throwing burnt belongings out of a flat window after tackling the blaze on Broxburn Drive.

They even had to remove the one of the windows from the flat.

Firefighters were reportedly on the scene around 5:20pm on Friday and had tackled the fire by 5:45pm.

One witness, Robyn Padme Tumbler, said: "There is burned mattress and other items on the floor that were thrown out of the window by fire fighters as they tackled the blaze.

"The entire window was pushed also out, leaving a hole."

As a result of the incident, three people were taken to hospital suffering with smoke inhalation. 

An Essex County Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said: “Firefighters from Grays and Orsett were called to a flat fire in Broxburn Drive, South Ockendon at 5.11pm on Friday (2 March).

“On arrival, crews reported that a fire was burning in the bedroom of a third floor flat and two people were inside the property. Firefighters helped the occupants to exit the flat safely and were able to extinguish the fire completely by 6.18pm.

“The flat has been destroyed by the fire, while two neighbouring flats on the same floor have also been affected by smoke damage.

“The fire was caused accidentally after an iron set fire to clothing. Three people were left in the care of the Ambulance Service after suffering from smoke inhalation.”