Traffic by London Bridge brought to a standstill after 12-storey building catches fire
TRAFFIC was brought to a standstill by London Bridge during rush hour this evening after a 12-storey building caught on fire.
Four fire engines were sent to the scene of the blaze on King William Street and the busy commuter route was closed to motorists, buses and pedestrians.
Dramatic footage recorded by eyewitnesses showed burning debris falling from towards the top of the building caught on fire.
It is believed the blaze stared at 33 King William Street, which is set to be demolished.
London Bridge building on fire
Showers of tinders could be seen falling from the building throughout the street
An eyewitness said: "Showers of tinders could be seen falling from the building throughout the street.
"At first glance it kind of looked like snow but on closer inspection you could see it was burning and glowing brightly."
A London Fire Brigade (LFB) spokeswoman said around 10 per cent of the scaffolding on the 10th floor was alight.
Firefighters were called to the scene of the blaze around 6.06pm this evening.
At around 7.30pm LFB said southbound traffic on London Bridge had re-opened.
An hour later they said the fire was "under control" but crews remained on the scene.
There have been no reports of any injuries.
Commuters took to social networking site Twitter to describe the scenes at the site of the blaze.
Alice Ralph wrote: "London Bridge fire tonight was pretty dramatic. Who knew some burning scaffolding could cause such total chaos?!"
While Funke Adeleke added: "Start walking if you're within London Bridge area. Looks like major delays and roadblock for some time."