Firefighters battled to save a historic Elizabethan building after a blaze in a restaurant kitchen.

Four fire engines and about 20 firefighters were called to a blaze at Bella Napoli on The Broadway, Cheam at 4.30pm on Sunday.

The restaurant was closed at the time and no-one was present, however part the ground floor and its ducting was damaged by fire. The fire also partly damaged the building’s roof.

A London Fire Brigade spokesman said the fire started in the kitchen on the ground floor of the building.

Smoke travelled through a duct system, up to the floor above and into the roof space.

The spokesman said the entire 30m roof space was open above was the restaurant and shops Osmani Interiors, the entertainment lighting company ltd and Juice. These shops were also closed.

He said: “The fire affected a range of shops because the roof space was open the smoke travelled across the whole building.

“When we arrived, we could barely see the shops because of the smoke.

"The main damage was in the kitchen of the restaurant and about ten percent of the roof was damaged.

“Our crews worked extremely hard to save the roof and to make sure the building was not badly damaged.”

The cause of the fire is under investigation and the restaurant was closed at the start of this week.

Crews from Sutton, Mitcham, Wallington and Wimbledon stations attended the fire and did not leave until about 7pm.