Building left gutted by Soho fire

In Pictures: Soho fire

An office building has been gutted by a fire in Soho, central London.

The four-storey Dean Street building, used by finance firm Future Capital, caught fire on Friday afternoon.

Its entire third floor and most of its second floor were damaged in the blaze. The roof collapsed and its first floor and basement were also damaged.

Two firefighters suffered minor injuries although no-one else was hurt. It took about seven hours to put out the fire.

Workers evacuated

The cause of the fire is being investigated, a London Fire Brigade spokesman said.

Dean Street remained closed on Saturday.

At its height up to 100 firefighters tackled the blaze, which sent plumes of black smoke across the West End.

Fifty people were evacuated from the building and workers were taken from other buildings in the area.

It was the second blaze to hit Soho in as many days. On Thursday, fire crews were called to a building in Newport Place which housed a restaurant and offices.

That fire damaged the basement of the five-storey building but no-one was hurt.