A huge fire has raged through a 24-storey block of flats in north Kensington, killing at least 12 people and leaving many more missing or injured.

The inferno broke out at Grenfell Tower, home to hundreds of residents in the Lancaster West Estate shortly before 1am on Wednesday morning.

The blaze is thought to have started on the third or fourth floor before destroying flat after flat as flames and smoke ripped through the block.

Grenfell Tower, which was built in 1974, is owned by Kensington and Chelsea council and run by its housing association, Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation.

The block contains 120 flats made up of a mix of social housing and also private homes which are sold or rented out by KCTMO.

Last year a multi-million pound refurbishment of the block was completed which included work to modernise the tower with cladding and replacement windows.

One of the two-bed flats, on the 18th floor of the building, was listed to rent at the end of the last year for £1,971 a month.

Photos of the inside of the flat shows a fitted kitchen, open plan living room, two double bedrooms, bathroom and separate toilet.

The advert boasts of the flat’s location near to Latimer Road Tube station and says the property is well insulated”.

Many people living across the tower block’s 24 storeys are as yet unaccounted for.

Witnesses and survivors of the fire today told how they heard knocking on their doors as people ran round the building warning people to get out.

The community’s response to the horrific events was praised by many as hordes of people donated food, clothing and toiletries to the dispossessed.