Flats demolished due to safety concerns after fire

Demolition work has started on a block of flats in east London which caught fire leaving more than 80 people homeless.

The London Fire Brigade (LFB) rescued at least 20 people from Spectrum House on Freshwater Road, Dagenham during a fire on 26 August.

A spokesperson for Barking and Dagenham Council said the building owners had decided to demolish the block after surveyor reports confirmed the building was unsafe.

Building owner Arinium Holdings Limited has refused to comment.

A spokesperson for the building's management company, Block Management Ltd, said they were "doing our utmost within our remit" but were not involved in the demolition.

Irina Vasile told BBC London she had been living in a flat in the block for almost three years before the fire and her last three months there had been "chaos".

"I can't focus on my daily life because every single day I remember how I woke up surrounded by smoke and I felt I was going to die burning," she said. "I'm traumatised."