A man whose parents' house was destroyed when a wildfire swept through Wennington hopes they never return to see the wreckage.
At least nine homes were destroyed in the east London village after a compost fire burnt out of control during Tuesday's record temperatures.
George Allen was among those to return to Wennington to see if anything could be salvaged from the home of his parents, George and Edith.
But the property has been reduced to two-and-a-half walls and rubble, with a couple of burned-out cars alongside the charred wreckage.
George and Edith were not in their home when the fire swept through the village and their son is convinced the pair, who are in their 80s, would have struggled to escape
Sky News reports the fire is thought to have started in the garden of the home that they bought over 50 years ago and quickly moved through the building, which was fortunately empty as George is in hospital.
"I'd be crying now, wouldn't I? I'd be grieving," George told Sky News. "They wouldn't have outrun it.
“My dad would've been trying to put the fire out with a half-inch garden hose, and my mum right behind him saying 'where do you want me to throw this bottle of water?'."
Despite the devastation to the property, George was keen to salvage something to return to the elderly couple.
“I just wanna get in there now. There must be something in there, something I can give them back, just one thing."
Fire officials at the scene report that some residents of the village have not yet returned from holiday and are as yet unaware of the extent of the damage.
George described his parents' reaction to losing their home as “philosophical” but insists they would be better off not returning.
"I hope they don't - I wouldn't like them to see it like this. It's best to keep the memories you've got, isn't it?" he said.
