The fire brigade raced to tackle a blaze that ripped through a sandwich shop after a suspected gas leak.

Four fire engines and around 20 fire fighters rushed to combat flames at Subway, in Holloway Road, Holloway, on Tuesday (August 9) at around 6am.

No one was injured, but the shop remains closed after the fire destroyed around 20 per cent of the ground floor and 10 per cent of the stairs leading to the flats above, before it was brought under control at 6.30am.

The cause of the fire in being investigated, but their is no indication it was started deliberately as part of the riots that shook the borough in recent days.

Mustafa Serin, who runs nearby restaurant Holloway Best Kebab, said: “I came in at about 10.30am and there were fire engines everywhere. I think it was maybe a gas leak because the national grid were there and they have dug a hole in the pavement.

“I saw the an old mattress outside and the manager of the shop was stood outside in his pyjamas. He looked really upset, almost crying, like he was feeling something bad in his heart.”