Large fire in central London railway arch halts trains

Around 70 firefighters were tackling a fire in a railway arch in Southwark, central London on Wednesday, prompting trains to the area to be halted and several buildings to be evacuated, the London Fire Brigade (LFB) said.

Footage posted by the fire brigade on Twitter showed large plumes of smoke coming from under the railway arch, which it said contained a number of vehicles and was "completely alight". Both Southwark and London Bridge stations were closed.

"The blaze is producing heavy smoke and those living or working in the local area are advised to keep their windows and doors closed," Station Commander Wayne Johnson said in a statement on the fire service's website.

Trains on the London Underground network's Jubilee Line were also impacted, with LFB saying smoke coming from a platform at London Bridge underground station was confirmed to have been from the railway arch blaze.

Network Rail Kent & Sussex said on Twitter the fire had spread to a car park where "a couple of electric cars are ablaze."