Firefighters have rescued two people as fire ripped through a block of sheltered flats for the disabled early on Sunday morning.

More than 40 firefighters spent two-and-a-half hours tackling the blaze at the Ability Housing Association building in Limpsfield Road, Sanderstead.

About 80 per cent of the flats at Colston Court and the building’s roof were damaged by the fire, which broke just before midnight on April 24.

Fire crews used breathing apparatus to enter the smoke-filled building and rescue two people, while another two managed to escape before the brigade arrived.

All four were taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation.

Witness Jo Huggins had to abandon the bus she was travelling home to Warlingham on when it became stuck at the scene by the ensuing road closure.

She said: “It was a massive fire, I’ve never seen anything like it.

“We were behind a barrier about 70 or 80 yards away, but you could still feel the heat.

“There were so many fire engines, and there were quite a lot of people stuck who couldn’t get home because of it.

“People had to be escorted through by police - it was a bit frightening because they were talking about explosions, because they weren’t sure what caused it.”

Firefighters were alerted to the blaze by housing association staff after smoke detectors in the flats were triggered.

A spokeswoman for Ability Housing Association said the tenants were recovering but “understandably shocked by what has happened”.

She said: ”Our immediate thoughts are with our tenants, who have lost their homes and many of their possessions.

“We will assess the full extent of the damage and loss once the site is declared safe.

“For now, we are pleased that the tenants are safe and that a potentially much more serious incident has been averted.”

She added staff were liaising with Croydon council officers to find temporary accommodation for the tenants once they recover.