A fire at a house next door to Vince Cable’s Twickenham office was caused by musicians using egg cartons to sound proof walls.

Firefighters were called to the Lion Road property at about 10.30pm on Friday, March 28, to reports of a fire towards the front of the first floor.

It is believed the fire started when one of a group of students, who had piled egg boxes against the walls to sound-proof their guitars, dropped a cigarette.

Nobody was injured in the incident.

Mark Travers, of Twickenham fire station’s blue watch, said: “Everyone was fine and although there was some concern for a cat, it got out as animals tend to.

“There was 50 per cent smoke damage to the third floor but that is not necessarily flame damage as there was a lot of smoke damage.”

When contacted by the Richmond and Twickenham Times, Dr Cable’s office said it was not aware of the fire.