Completed homes were among 200 units wiped out by huge blaze on development in Colindale

Up to 2500 people have been evacuated following a fire at a site being developed by Berkeley Group housebuilder St George in North London.

The blaze, which started yesterday afternoon at a site in Colindale, took fire fighters five hours to extinguish and destroyed 200 housing units. Nearby buildings including Hendon Police Training College, a police station, student halls of residence and local homes were evacuated.

No-one was injured in the incident. The area has now been cordoned off, and it is understood that police and the fire brigade have launched an investigation.

Berkeley Group managing director Tony Pidgley said: “We can confirm there was a fire at a site in Hendon. Until there has been a forensic review, we won’t know how it started. The site contained 200 units at various stages of construction; some were completed. We have lost them all. It’s very tragic. The only consolation is that there were no injuries.”