Firefighters have brought under control a blaze at a five-storey hotel near Paddington railway station in central London.

London Fire Brigade (LFB) was called to the scene on Craven Road at 4.41pm on Thursday and had the fire controlled by 6.39pm.

Half of the hotel’s ground floor was ablaze at the peak of the fire and neighbouring properties were evacuated.

The cause of the fire is not known and is being investigated.

LFB said 10 fire engines, including a fire rescue unit and a 32-metre turntable ladder, were sent to the scene.

Crews from Paddington, Kensington, North Kensington, Euston and other nearby stations were called out.

Road closures are in place and LFB has asked the public to avoid the area.

The Metropolitan Police were also called to the scene at 4.57pm to assist with road closures.

A spokesperson said there were no reports of any injuries.

Witness Charlotte Whittle, 26, lives in an apartment 100 metres away from the hotel and said she saw “very distressed” people coming out on to the street as smoke filled the sky. 

She told the PA news agency: “I’ve been working from home today so I heard all the sirens of the fire trucks and everything. 

“We could see a lot of smoke in the sky. There were people everywhere. I could see like 80 to 100 firemen rushing around. There were police, loads of ambulances in the street next to us as well. 

“They were fighting it for over an hour. They evacuated part of the street and blocked off all the roads. Just watching people very distressed from the hotel on the street, I could see the police speaking to people.”