An electrical fault caused a street lamp to burst into flames on the corner of Ruskin Road and Park Lane in Wallington last night.

Firefighters could not put out the fire because the fault meant it kept igniting so they cordoned off the area around the lamp until electricians could isolate the supply and switch it off.

A crew from Wallington fire station was called to the lamp at around 10.05pm. A spokesman said: "It was the actual lamp itself that was on fire, not the lamp post so no-one was at risk of getting burned. It was fully on fire, though.

"It actually happens more often than you think."

Sutton Council has been alerted to the fault.