Eleven people have been taken to hospital following a fire at a flat in east London.

About 60 firefighters tackled the blaze on Cornwall Avenue in Bethnal Green shortly before midnight on Wednesday, bringing it under control by 01:05 BST on Thursday.

Neighbours, who described hearing residents screaming, praised the response of London Ambulance Service which treated 17 people at the scene.

Yasin, who lives in a block of flats opposite the fire, said: "We could tell it was going to be bad because the flames reached up to the fourth floor. My prayers are with all the neighbours because it's a very tight community. I hope everyone's OK and we'll pray for the best for them."

London Fire Brigade sent crews from Shadwell, Shoreditch, Bethnal Green and Poplar.

It said the cause of the fire was under investigation.

A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: "We sent a number of resources to the scene including ambulance crews, advanced paramedics and members of our Hazardous Area Response Team.

"We treated 17 patients in total. We took 11 patients to hospital and six patients were cared for and discharged at the scene."