A carelessly thrown away cigarette may have caused the blaze at Forest Gate rail station which led to the temporary shut down of intercity services.

Ten firefighters tackled the burning paper on the station’s roof on Monday as power was cut to the overhead cables, halting trains and severely delaying commuters.

Engines from Stratford and Leytonstone stations were called to the site around 10.30am.

It is suspected that the paper caught fire because of a passenger’s negligent disposal of a cigarette but the cause remains unconfirmed.

The station on Woodgrange Road suffered no major damage.