Notting Hill Carnival revellers hold minute's silence for Grenfell Tower victims

Partiers dancing in the streets at Notting Hill Carnival paused to observe a minute's silence in memory of those who died in the Grenfell Tower fire.

At 3pm on Monday sound systems stopped blaring and the carnival procession paused for 60 seconds to remember the at least 80 victims of the devastating tower block fire.

Around half a mile away from the charred high-rise, firefighters lined up, removed their helmets and bowed their heads outside North Kensington fire station.

The moment was concluded with a spontaneous round of applause and cheers from the hundreds of thousands of carnivalists celebrating the bank holiday weekend.

The firefighters were then embraced, congratulated and thanked by carnival goers, posing for photos with them.

Local MP Emma Dent Coad wiped away tears following the moment of reflection, which she observed outside the fire station.

She said of the festivities: "It's a really, really lovely atmosphere, there's gorgeous weather, there's a lot of good feeling out there, a lot of people wearing green, and I think it should continue in that vein."

Ms Dent Coad said she would be keeping Grenfell "very high on the agenda" when Parliament gets back in session next Monday, adding: "I won't rest until every single family is properly housed, and despite my efforts over the last 10 weeks I've got nowhere at all and I find that very, very, very difficult.

"I did imagine as an MP I'd be able to help people get things done, but it's been very hard."

Asked what she felt was the main reason behind the delay, she said "incompetence".

She said she had spoken to two families who had been offered "completely unsuitable" accommodation.

One was a wheelchair user offered a flat up steps with no lift, and another, who walks with crutches, was offered a place where the nearest shop was 20 minutes away, she said.

Samia Badani, the chairwoman of Bramley House Residents' Association, has been guarding the hundreds of handwritten tributes and flowers left near to the tower after the fire.

A large number of the tributes are located outside of the ring of police officers encircling the Lancaster West estate in which the tower stands, with fencing in place to protect them from passers-by heading to the carnival.

She said of the charred tower: "The sight of it is something very shocking. It's very imposing.

"When people come here and see it, it just hits them."

People catching sight of the high-rise block for the first time had displayed a range of emotions, "from anger to complete breakdown", she said.

She said: "It just hits you. After the carnival coming back to the station it just hits you.

"And I've seen the physical reaction of people, people jumping or gasping. The horror."

She said it had been "very difficult" to ensure people did not take photos of the tributes, adding that she wished posters discouraging people from using their cameras had been placed more prominently.

But she said: "We understand people need to pay their respects.

"What we've seen is humanity, and you don't turn away humanity, and I think people want to show and share their sympathy.

"We've had messages of love, and people saying thank you to us for staying there."