A whole house in Kingston Vale collapsed in the middle of the night after the home underwent works on a new basement.

Kingston Police officers were called to the collapsed two-storey house in Derwent Avenue at 1am this morning, along with firefighters from New Malden, Kingston, Wandsworth, Battersea and Heston.

The home, which was undergoing renovations, appeared to have collapsed after works were made to dig out a basement, according to a Kingston Police spokesman.

Officers were concerned that people may have been in the house at the time, and thermal cameras by firefighters to detect whether they may be anyone in the rubble.

A London Fire Brigade spokesman said an "extensive search" was carried out but the house was empty at the time of the collapse.

A police guard was kept overnight to prevent anyone entering the property.

Council officers were at the site this morning to make the area safe.

Councillor David Cunningham, cabinet member for regeneration at Kingston Council, said: "The owners of this building submitted a building regulations application just two days ago and have therefore carried out works without our guidance and approval.

"Our primary concern is to ensure that the building is structurally safe. We are working with the contractors to carry out the work, which is due to complete by the end of the day. 

"Following this, we will be reporting this incident to the Health and Safety Executive for further investigation."