The suspected double suicide in Putney has been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).

No further details are known at this stage but a spokeswoman for the IPCC confirmed this afternoon it had “received a referral”.

The IPCC is tasked with making sure that complaints against the police are dealt with effectively.

Police found the bodies of two women in a second floor flat in Norman Court, Lower Richmond Road, yesterday morning.

It is believed the two women, thought to be in their 20s, used chemicals to poison themselves.

Little is known about the pair but it is understood they were both in their 20s.

Neighbours claim one was of African descent but had recently moved from Roehampton. The other is thought to be white with dark hair.

A trader working opposite the flats, who did not want to be named, said he had been told various accounts as to what happened by residents living in the flat block.

He said: "One woman said they called the police and said they were going to commit suicide."

However, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Police (Met), while not able to confirm or deny the report, said he was "not aware of that being the case".

The block is owned by Women's Pioneer Housing, a not-for-profit organisation that provides affordable one-bedroom and bedsit properties for single women.

Chief Executive Janet Davies said police had not yet confirmed if one of the dead women was a tenant.

She said: “We have just recently heard they will let us go in and deliver a letter to tenants to let them know what’s happening.

“We do not know the identities of the two women involved and are waiting to hear from the police.

“It is a quiet residential street, a small block and something like this is completely unprecedented in our experience.”

Police were called at 10.42am yesterday and were initially joined by about 15 firefighters amid reports of a chemical leak.

A spokesman for the Met confirmed chemical experts from both the force and London Fire Brigade attended the scene.

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