'Smoke just billowed out,' neighbour describes fatal south London fire that left four children dead

A neighbour of the four young children who died in a house fire in Sutton has told of how fire crews desperately battled to save the boys.

Richard Dawes told ITV News he was sitting in his kitchen when he heard "shouting and screaming" outside at around 7pm on Thursday.

He went to investigate and heard a woman who lives on Collingwood Road shouting that a nearby house was on fire.

Dawes jumped over his neighbours' fences to investigate the blaze and when he reached the back of the house he passed firefighters an item to help them smash the windows to gain entry to the mid-terrace home.

"Smoke just billowed out," he said.

Fire crews managed to get all four boys out of the house but were unable to save them.

"They tried to resuscitate them outside my house for well over an hour last night," Dawes said.

They boys, two sets of twins aged four and three, are believed to be called Kyson, Bryson, Leyton and Logan.

The boys were alone in the house at around 7pm on Thursday, London Fire Brigade said.

A 27-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of child neglect and remains in police custody, the Metropolitan Police said.

"They were babies, and they brought them out, the fire brigade," Dawes told ITV News. "They tried so hard. I can't say how much they did. They went above and beyond."