London Fire Brigade dispatched 125 firefighters to tackle a blaze at the Imperial Cars supercar showroom in Romford.

Crews worked to extinguish the large fire at the independent dealership – which is unrelated to the Imperial Cars car supermarket business – on the High Road in Chadwell Heath, Romford on Saturday night and into Sunday morning.

The operation has a near-£270,000 Ferrari 488 Spider and a £245,000 Lamborghini Aventador Roadster among the premium car stock listed on its website.

The fire brigade reported some parked cars, a large pile of car tyres and an adjacent warehouse were involved in the fire, with no reports of any injuries as nearby residents were evacuated as a precaution.

Assistant-commissioner Graham Ellis, who was at the scene, said: "In the early stages of this fire, quick thinking firefighters were able to make the area safe enough for around 40 cars at the dealership to be driven out of harm’s way.

“This stopped them being an explosion risk but it also saved many thousands pounds worth of vehicle damage. They also removed a number of cylinders which can explode when exposed to heat.

“The fire spread to a pile of tyres which created a lot of thick black smoke and we advised local residents to avoid the area and keep windows and doors shut.

“The combination of cars, cylinders, petrol, tyres and a lot of thick smoke made this a very difficult fire to tackle. Crews did a good job from preventing the fire from spreading beyond the car dealership.”

London Fire Brigade reported that a total of seven vehicles, the car showroom and neighbouring warehouse were “completely damaged” by the fire.

The cause of the fire is now under investigation by the Brigade and the Metropolitan Police Service.