Part of a car repair workshop in Forest Gate was badly damaged after a fire this afternoon.

Motorists in Romford Road were diverted after flames ripped through a storage area in premises in Sprowston Mews at around 1.30pm.

The London Fire Brigade said five people left the building before the blaze took hold and there were no injuries as a result. A gas cylinder on the premises was also untouched.

The storage area contained car parts and only one car was partly damaged in the fire.

Twenty firefighters attended the scene and the incident is now under control.

The cause of the fire is now under investigation.