Elderly, mental health patients who were evacuated when fire broke out at an East Ham hospital will be returned to their ward this week.

As many as 60 patients and staff at the East Ham Care Centre in Shrewsbury Road were evacuated on Thursday afternoon. Many suffered from smoke inhalation.

Although staff managed to get most of the elderly patients to safety, four people trapped on the ground floor were rescued by firemen wearing breathing apparatus from East Ham Fire Station.

The cause of the fire at the Sally Sherman Ward is being investigated.