A body was found in a burning car on a quiet London street in the early hours of this morning.
The grisly discovery was made on a residential road in Clapham, South London, with officers alerted to the incident around 2.30am.
The fire brigade were first called to the scene and after the blaze was extinguished a body was discovered inside the burnt out vehicle.
An investigation has been launched to try and discover the cause of the fire as well as the death - which is being treated as unexpected.
In a statement the Met Police said: "Police were called at 2.34am on Tuesday, December 27, to reports of a car on fire in Clarence Avenue, SW4.
"Officers attended along with the London Fire Brigade. After the fire was extinguished, the body of a person was found inside the car.
"They were pronounced dead at the scene. Officers are in the process of identifying the person.
"The death is being treated as unexpected and further enquiries are taking place to establish the circumstances."
The scene of the incident is parallel to a local park where today young children were playing football and tennis against the harrowing backdrop.
A blue tent has been erected over the husk of the burnt car, outside a row of houses, and forensics and London Fire Brigade remain at the scene this afternoon.
Locals reported being awaken by the inferno early this morning, before calling emergency services. Since a police cordon has been erected around the scene.
The Met Police is thought to have taken the lead on the incident as they work to identify the body and inform next of kin.
The fire brigade were initially called when one resident thought a garage had caught fire but the blaze woke up another neighbour who lives nearby.
They said: “It was around 3 a.m. when I turned off the light [to go to bed.]
"I started seeing all these flashing lights around 3.30 a.m. When I pulled back the curtain and looked out, all I saw were huge flames coming from the house. All I saw were red flames."
