Sign up to FREE email alerts from Mirror - Weekly #TeamDog Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

A distraught couple watched in horror as their dog burned to death when fire engulfed their car.

The beloved family pet was killed in the blaze, which ripped through two vehicles in Chetwyn Road, Dartmouth Park, last night.

Witnesses said the couple were leaving a nearby church when they spotted flames billowing from the people carrier.

One witness told the Ham&High newspaper: “The family had just left the nearby church and came across.

(Image: @svanstiphout/twitter)

"They looked horrified as they saw the fire and said ‘That’s our car...our dogs are inside’.

"They just burst into tears. Neighbours were hugging and consoling them and they returned to the church. It’s just awful.

“The fire was ferocious. There was flaming fuel just running from the cars down the street and the explosions were huge. It’s shocking.”

Firefighters were called to the scene shortly after 9pm where the fire was brought under control, though the dog could not be saved.

(Image: @svanstiphout/twitter)

The Metropolitan Police is investigating the cause of the fire in conjunction with the London Fire Brigade.

A force spokesman said: "Two cars were alight which the London Fire Brigade managed to extinguish. A dog was found in one of the vehicles and had died.

"The circumstances around the cause of the fire is being investigated by the London Fire Brigade.

"The London Fire Brigade said it was called at 8.52pm and had the fire under control by 9.38pm."