Blaze shuts key London station

One of London's busiest railways stations was closed and 2,000 commuters evacuated after a fire broke out.

London Fire Brigade said 1,000 passengers were led from Liverpool Street station and another 1,000 from the Tube station after the blaze started last night in a Burger King restaurant in the main terminal.

At one point some 40 firefighters tackled the fire in a ventilation shaft after it broke out just after 10pm.

It took around three hours to get fully under control, and no injuries were reported.

Both the mainline and Underground station eventually reopened, LFB said.

A LFB spokesman said: "It looks like a kitchen ventilation shaft in one of the restaurant units inside the station (was) alight."

Roads in the surrounding area of Bishopsgate were closed from Great Eastern Street in the north to Wormwood Street in the south while emergency services dealt with the incident.

Liverpool Street is the terminus for services from the east of England and Cambridge as well as the Stansted Express service to Stansted Airport.