An Indian restaurant badly damaged by fire early this morning had only been open for two weeks following a renovation.

The blaze, which ripped through the ventilation system, kitchen and roof of Shaam Restaurant in Court Parade, off Watford Road, took firefighters nearly two hours to bring under control after it started at just after 2.20am.

Owner Yama Folad and his business partner bought the premises in August, and the restaurant opened earlier this month after a renovation to redecorate the eating area.

He said: “The firefighters told us that they think water leaked through the roof and got into some electrics and then the fire started – there’s a lot of damage.

“We have buildings insurance even though it’s now very difficult to get it these days, so we will have to wait and see what they say. It’s really bad luck.”

The roof of the rear of the building partly collapsed as the blaze destroyed the air ventilation system, and rubble litters the floor of the kitchen inside.

People living in flats above the front of the restaurant told the Harrow Times they were woken by firefighters in the middle of the night, but nobody was evacuated or injured in the fire.

London Fire Brigade said the cause of the fire was still under investigation.