The scene in Netherhall Gardens on Tuesday

AN elderly woman has died after a blaze at her Hampstead home on Tuesday evening, the London Fire Brigade has confirmed.

Crews were called to a maisonette fire on the Finchley Road side of Netherhall Gardens. A woman in her 90s received medical treat­ment but was pronounced dead at the scene.

Jenny White, chair of the Netherhall Neighbour­hood Association (NNA), said: “It’s desperately sad. I’ve certainly never in my life seen so many emergency vehicles in such a tiny area. I mean, they were literally on the pavement. When I came back at around 9.30pm there were multiple police cars, ambulances and fire engines. It’s still a shock to the system.”

Ms White said that the NNA didn’t yet know who the woman was. She added: “Just like everyone else, we’re shocked by what happened.”

The fire was under control by 8.30pm. Four fire engines and around 25 firefighters from West Hampstead and Kentish Town fire stations attended the scene.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. The coroner is preparing a report and police are searching for next of kin.