'£1m house' in Kingston collapses into rubble Published duration 3 April 2017

image copyright Met Police image caption The house collapsed in the early hours of the morning

A large detached house in south-west London that was thought to be worth more than £1m has collapsed.

Witnesses said the two-storey house in Derwent Avenue, Kingston Vale crashed down shortly after 01:00 BST.

Emergency services were called and fire crews carried out an "extensive search" but nobody was in the property at the time.

Kingston Police said basement renovations had been taking place at the property.

image copyright Google image caption How the two-storey home looked before the collapse

image copyright Met Police image caption How it looks now

Neighbour Sharon Gouhar said she "heard a big boom, my dog started barking and my children ran from their bedrooms saying their rooms had shook."

She said they called the police who "asked us to vacate... It was a bit distressing".

The average price paid for homes in Derwent Avenue is £1,375,000, according to property website Zoopla.

Planning permission for the work was granted in March.

But Councillor David Cunningham of Kingston Council said a building regulations application had been submitted "just two days ago" and therefore work had been "carried out without our guidance and approval".

"We will be reporting this incident to the Health and Safety Executive for further investigation," he said.

image copyright Met Police image caption Witnesses said they heard a "big boom"

image copyright Met Police image caption Much of the house has been reduced to rubble

Related Topics Kingston upon Thames