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Several people were evacuated as fire tore through a historic square in London in the early hours of the morning.

Market stalls were wrecked when the blaze took hold in Kingston-upon-Thames town centre, in south-west London, at around 4.30am on Tuesday.

Four fire engines and around 25 firefighters raced to the scene, and eight people were evacuated from the area.

Firefighters said a range of stalls at Kingston Market Place, which is home to at least 20 permanent stalls, were destroyed by the flames and smoke.

There were no reports of any injuries.

A London Fire Brigade spokesperson said: “Control officers took the first of six calls at 4.33am and mobilised crews from Kingston, Surbiton, New Malden and surrounding fire stations to the scene.”

They said the fire was put out by 6.08am.

The fire brigade and the Metropolitan Police are investigating the cause of the blaze, and a cordon was put in place as the investigation began.

A Scotland Yard spokesperson said: “Police were called by the London Ambulance Service (LAS) at 4.49am on Tuesday 6 October to reports of a fire in Market Place, Kingston.

“Officers attended alongside colleagues from the London Fire Brigade and LAS. No injuries have been reported.”

Records show Kingston-upon-Thames had a market as far back as the early 1200s.

Today’s stalls include a fishmongers, greengrocers, florist, an artisan bakery and other food stalls.

Market operator Between The Bridges was appointed by Kingston Council to run Kingston Ancient Market from 1 April last year.