PEOPLE were trapped in their flats in Thamesmead after a motorbike was set on fire near a lift this morning (August 4).

They were woken up at around 4am and made several 999 calls after smoke from the blaze drifted up to the residents in the four storey building in Maran Way.

Electrical cabling in the stairwell lobby near the bike also caught fire.

Staff at the emergency control centre spoke to the flat owners on the phone and told them to stay in their homes until it was safe for them to be evacuated.

But firefighters managed to get the fire under control by around 4.20am and there was no need for people living nearby to be rescued.

A fire investigation team is looking into the cause of the incident.