A Wandsworth fire fighter has warned about lamps being kept close to walls after a family’s loft conversion was scorched.

The London Fire Brigade were called out to a house in Rosehill Road, Wandsworth, just before 3am this morning.

The family had been woken up by smoke alarms and could smell burning.

They discovered a halogen lamp, shining on the wall, had charred the plaster. The wall was also emitting a little bit of smoke.

Watch manager Terry Lenderyou said: “People need to be aware of how much heat comes out of these bulbs.

“If you left one on and went to work it could start a fire. Everybody was fine – there were smoke alarms all through the house. They turned off the light and had moved it by the time we got there.”

The fire fighters had to take away the plaster to make sure the heat had not ignited any dust behind it.