Arson probe after mother and daughter rescue in flat blaze

A MOTHER and her young daughter were rescued from their home in the middle of the night after a fire swept through a block of flats in Swiss Cottage.

Police are investigating the blaze at Besant House in Boundary Road and believe arsonists may be to blame.

Firefighters were called just after midnight on Monday morning and helped the single mother, her nine-year-old daughter and two other residents escape.

All four managed to get out unharmed but the mother and child's home, where the fire started, was left charred and blackened.

The family's neighbour, Nicholas Pipe, woke up to find his own apartment enveloped in thick, black smoke. He said: "A woman started banging on my door, saying there was a fire.

"I came out and all I could see was smoke. The railings were hot and I couldn't get downstairs because all the tiles were flying off the wall."

Police are appealing for witnesses and are keen to speak to the occupants of a small red car seen in the area at the time. They are described as three black men aged between 17 and 25 years, wearing casual clothing. One of them is believed to have been wearing a red or pink tracksuit.

Call Camden Police on 020-7404 1212 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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