Cars, fencing and piles of metal have been left blackened after a fire ripped through a small business in the early hours of this morning.

Ron Chong, the owner of car repairs business RMS in West Barnes Lane, was alerted by police just before 7am this morning that his business was on fire and he rushed to the yard.

Cars worth hundreds of pounds each parked on the forecourt, which is opposite the back of Raynes Park High School, have been destroyed by the fire.

Wimbledon Times:

One of the cars destroyed by fire

Mr Chong said: "At first I thought it’s not as bad as I thought it was.

"It is the fence that looks a mess.

"I’ll re-do the fence and carry on - what can you do."

Mr Chong said the fence will cost about £400 to repair; a Range Rover worth £800 and a Volkswagen Sharan worth £400 were among the cars destroyed.

Wimbledon Times:

He said a client’s car escaped damage as it was parked on the opposite side of the yard and he has cancelled repairs until the weekend while he cleans up the yard.

None of the cars parked on the roadside opposite the business were damaged.

The cause of the fire is under investigation but at an early stage Mr Chong thought it could either have been started by a member of the public throwing a cigarette away or it was started in the premises itself.

He said: "There was paper and cardboard in the bins, it just went up."

Piles of scrap metal, engines, car tyres and containers were left blackened by the fire which took hold at about 4am.

Wimbledon Times:

Business owner Mr Chong lives nearby and can often see the floodlights from the school from his window, but he did not see the flames from the fire.

"By the time I arrived, the firefighters, police, everyone had gone," he added.

About two dozen firefighters, from New Malden, Surbiton, Kingston and Sutton, were drafted in.

They brought the flames under control in about two hours.