Arrest after man dies in Dagenham house fire

The London Fire Brigade is investigating alongside Met police

A person has been arrested after a man died in a house fire in east London.

Firefighters were called to a blaze in Oval Road North in Dagenham on Saturday afternoon and having forced their way in found the body of a man in his 70s.

The Met said the fire was being treated as suspicious and a man had been arrested.

The force added it was investigating whether the blaze could be linked to two others which happened in the same part of Dagenham on Friday and Saturday lunchtimes.

'Concern at proximity'

On Friday, several homes were damaged in a fire at a row of terraced houses on Third Avenue, while on Saturday there was a house blaze on Beam Avenue in Dagenham.

The fire in which the man died is believed to be suspicious, and murder detectives from the Met Police are investigating with the London Fire Brigade (LFB).

A post-mortem examination is due to be held on Monday.

The arrested man has been taken into police custody where he remains, but police have not yet specified what he has been arrested on suspicion of.

Speaking about the fact the fires were near one another, LFB Assistant Commissioner Thomas Goodall said: "We acknowledge that the close proximity of all of these incidents will concern local residents.

"There is nothing to suggest that these incidents are connected at this time but we will ensure that investigations into the causes of these fires are thorough, which includes working alongside our colleagues in the Metropolitan Police."