logo
Boy, 12, dies in south London flat fire

Boy, 12, dies in south London flat fire

Independent09-07-2025
A 12-year-old boy has died after a fire in south London.
Emergency services were called to a blaze at a block of maisonettes in Lewisham Road, Lewisham, just before midnight on Tuesday.
A boy, aged 12, died at the scene, the Metropolitan Police said.
Officers attended the scene alongside the London Fire Brigade and London Ambulance Service.
London Fire Brigade said ten fire engines and 70 firefighters were dispatched to tackle the fire.
A maisonette split between the ground and first floors was destroyed by the fire. Part of a maisonette split between the second and third floors was also damaged by the fire.
The boy's family have been informed and are being supported by specialist officers.
A woman, aged 54, was treated at the scene by London Ambulance Service taken to hospital. Her injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
Three other people left the building before the Brigade arrived at the scene.
The fire was brought under control by 2am on Wednesday.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. Firefighters said it is not believed to be suspicious at this stage.
Detective Chief Inspector Danian Reid, from the Met's local investigations team in south east London, said: "This is a tragic incident and our thoughts are with everyone involved.
'We continue to work alongside investigators from the London Fire Brigade to establish the cause of the fire.
'We understand the impact this will have on the community and there will be local neighbourhood officers, and other emergency services, in the area as enquiries continue."
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Trump news at a glance: president dismisses continued Epstein and Maxwell furore as ‘not a big thing'
Trump news at a glance: president dismisses continued Epstein and Maxwell furore as ‘not a big thing'

The Guardian

timean hour ago

  • The Guardian

Trump news at a glance: president dismisses continued Epstein and Maxwell furore as ‘not a big thing'

Donald Trump continued to face questions about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein as he landed in Scotland ahead of meeting British prime minister Keir Starmer and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen. The US president denied reports that he was briefed about his name appearing in the Epstein files after landing on Friday evening local time. He was also asked about the justice department's questioning of Ghislaine Maxwell and suggestions he might offer her clemency. Trump: 'I don't know anything about the conversation, I haven't really been following it.' 'A lot of people have been asking me about pardons [for Maxwell]. Obviously, this is no time to be talking about pardons' he went on. 'You're making a very big thing over something that's not a big thing.' Here are the key US politics stories today: The furore over Donald Trump's ties with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein continued on Friday as new revelations about the pair's relationship threatened to mire the president's golfing trip to Scotland, where he arrived late on Friday. After landing at Glasgow Prestwick airport at about 8.30pm local time, the US president denied reports that he had been briefed about his name appearing in files pertaining to the case against the late Epstein. He also said he had not 'really been following' the justice department's interview with Epstein's convicted associate, Ghislaine Maxwell. Read the full story The EU appears to be on the verge of signing a trade deal with Donald Trump after the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, announced she would meet the US president on Sunday during his four-day trip to Scotland. Trump landed in Scotland on Friday evening before the opening of his new golf course in Aberdeenshire. He said he was also planning to meet the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, on Saturday. Read the full story The deputy US attorney general, Todd Blanche, held a second in-person meeting on Friday with Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted sex trafficker and longtime associate of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Blanche had confirmed the two met behind closed doors in Tallahassee, Florida, on Thursday, at the federal prosecutor's office within the federal courthouse in the state capital, and they met again on Friday. Read the full story Kenny Laynez-Ambrosio was driving to his landscaping job with his mother and two male friends when they were pulled over by the Florida highway patrol. In one swift moment, a traffic stop turned into a violent arrest. Video of the incident captured by Laynez-Ambrosio, an 18-year-old US citizen, appears to show a group of officers in tactical gear working together to violently detain the three men. The video has put fresh scrutiny on the harsh tactics used by US law enforcement officials as the Trump administration sets ambitious enforcement targets to detain thousands of immigrants every day. Read the full story The White House has announced that it will release $5.5bn in frozen education funds back to US states. That announcement came on Friday after Donald Trump's administration decided to abruptly withhold the congressionally approved funds a day before their 1 July release for the 2025-26 school year. South Park co-creator Trey Parker had the briefest response to anger from the White House over this season's premiere, which showed a naked Trump in bed with Satan. Two high-ranking officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration were placed on administrative leave on Friday, fueling speculation that the Trump administration was retaliating against them for actions taken during the president's first term. Catching up? Here's what happened on 24 July 2025.

Slain grandparents' selfless final act to save their two-year-old grandson
Slain grandparents' selfless final act to save their two-year-old grandson

Daily Mail​

time2 hours ago

  • Daily Mail​

Slain grandparents' selfless final act to save their two-year-old grandson

Grandparents who pushed their two-year-old grandson out of the way before they were mowed down by a car have been praised for their final act of love. Vicky's parents were struck by a Toyota Yaris while walking along a footpath in Wantirna South, in Melbourne 's east, about 12.20pm on Thursday, July 10. They were on their usual walk home from a playground at Coleman Road Reserve with Vicky's toddler son, their grandson, in tow. The grandmother, 59, died at the scene. The grandfather, 60, was rushed to hospital in critical condition and died two days later from a traumatic brain injury. Miraculously, their grandson survived. He was found near the scene of the crash by a neighbour, Tracey Jean, with only scratches to his face. Vicky and her husband Ethan, both aged 35, are certain that their son survived the horror crash thanks to the final, desperate act of his grandparents. 'They had the pram in front of them. The second they saw the car, they didn't save themselves,' Ethan told The Age. 'They got my son out of the way.' Vicky sad her son had 'meant the world' to his grandparents. Her parents had relocated from China only months before the tragic incident with the sole aim of spending their retirement surrounded by family. It was at their insistence that Vicky decided to have a child. Now, her son and his miraculous escape is the reason she will continue to live. 'If it weren't for my son, I don't think I would have made it through this,' she said. 'Because of him, I need to keep going.' A 91-year-old woman was behind the wheel of the silver Toyota Yaris at the time of the collision. She suffered minor injuries and was 'horribly shaken' by the incident. Police said the Toyota approached the family from behind and continued driving for nearly 200metres after the fatal impact. It is not clear whether a medical episode caused the woman to come off the road, but police have suggested she may have been out of control for up to 50metres. Two weeks out from the loss of her parents, Vicky hopes the incident will encourage Victorian lawmakers to impose stricter rules on elderly drivers. Mandatory yearly medical and driving assessments for drivers over the age of 75 and a system to spot high-risk drivers are among the changes she has recommended. The 91-year-old woman was interviewed by police and released pending further enquiries. Police have not laid any charges.

Revealed: Two in every five phones thefts across Europe happen in the UK as government battles to get to grips with rise in county lines snatcher gang chaos
Revealed: Two in every five phones thefts across Europe happen in the UK as government battles to get to grips with rise in county lines snatcher gang chaos

Daily Mail​

time2 hours ago

  • Daily Mail​

Revealed: Two in every five phones thefts across Europe happen in the UK as government battles to get to grips with rise in county lines snatcher gang chaos

Two in every five phone thefts across Europe happen in the UK, new figures claim, as the government attempts to grapple with county line gangs turning to phone snatching. And harrowing figures show London is at the centre of the snatching chaos, with one in every six phones nabbed across the continent happening in the capital, according to American insurance firm, SquareTrade. After surveying data across its 12 European markets, it found despite Brits only accounting for 10 percent of their customers on the continent, they made up 39 percent of all phone loss claims. Nearly half of phone theft in the UK happened in London, according to the gadget insurance firm, with Birmingham following in second place. Phone snatching incidents also occurred more frequently in summer months and Christmas, aligning with busier travel months, shopping periods as well as festivals. Britain has become 'leading country for missing devices in Europe', the company told The Times, with claims of phone theft has quadrupling since June 2021. Latest statistics from the Crime Survey for England and Wales also indicated 'theft from a person' rose by half in the last year to 483,000 incidents, with the most common object snatched in the category being mobile phones. In 2024, 70,371 phones were stolen in London alone, and in 2020, around 20,000 phone thefts were reported, however, due to a lack of reporting from victims, the figures are likely to be higher. Last September, the Home Office promised to crackdown on phone thefts by increasing patrols in the most at risk areas, while adding Operation Opal, the national police intelligence unit, would also be honing in on crooks. Phone thefts are estimated to cost Londoners and its visitors at least £ 70million, according to the Metropolitan Police. The mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan was also accused by City Hall Conservatives of 'virtually ignor[ing the problem, even though he remained adamant he was continuing to support the force with 'record funding' to tackle the epidemic. The most stolen devices were iPhones, SquareTrade reported, with claims on average totalling to £1,200. The iPhone 15 Pro Max was the most commonly stolen device, with the iPhone 16 Pro Max coming in second place, followed by the Galaxy S24 Ultra. Kevin Gillan, the managing director, of Square TradeEurope, told The Times: 'July creates a perfect storm — festivals, holidays, and crowded spaces increase the risk of theft. London is especially vulnerable, and the UK now leads Europe in phone theft claims.' It comes as county lines gangs have turned to snatching phones instead of dealing drugs to feed a growing £70m a year epidemic. Gang members are grooming vulnerable young people to steal mobiles on Britain's streets due to unprecedented overseas demand and softer sentences for those who are caught. Stolen phones are being shipped abroad in bulk and sold around the world, a police chief warned, with some 80 per cent of the 80,000 phones stolen every year in London ending up overseas. A Mail investigation tracked down a phone stolen from an estate agent on the capital's famous Baker Street across the globe to a high-rise block in Hong Kong, where it sat alongside hundreds of thousands of other handsets. And a police chief in charge suggested the likes of Apple and Google had the gift to stop the trade by making a phone worthless after being taken. At least 230 phones were stolen every day on average in the UK last year - twice as many as five years ago and rising all the time. London is the epicentre, making up roughly 75 per cent of phone thefts, but it is clear the problem is nationwide, with every major force recording thousands of stolen phones every year.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store