A man believed to be in his 80s has died following a house fire in Suffolk overnight.
The emergency services were called to Low Street, in Ilketshall St Margaret, near Bungay just after 10.30pm on Saturday March 16.
Officers from Suffolk Constabulary were contacted following reports that somebody was trapped inside in the property .
First on scene, they forced entry into the building and rescued a man from inside on the first floor.
Fire crews arrived shortly afterwards and together with the police officers, provided initial first aid to the man until paramedics took over.
The man, believed to be aged in his 80s, was taken by ambulance to the James Paget Hospital and required CPR while he was transported. He later died at the hospital.
A neighbour, who did not want to be named, said: 'I didn't hear anything, I saw the blue lights, but his next door neighbours said they heard a loud bang and they called the police.
'I used to pick him up and drive him into town to catch a bus so he could see his daughter every now and then.
'He has lived here for years, most probably his whole life,' they said.
According to neighbours, the elderly man has been living by himself after his wife died.
A spokesperson from the Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service said dense smoke had filled the property and firefighters managed to contain the blaze just after 1am.
The walls of his two-storey brick home remained blackened the next morning and the wooden front door was visibly damaged, while firefighters, police and two forensic service vehicles were on scene for most of the day.
Fire appliances from Harleston, Loddon, Halesworth, Bungay, and Beccles attended the incident.
The death is currently being treated as unexplained but there are not believed to be any suspicious circumstances.
A joint police and fire service investigation has been opened.
- Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact East CID at Lowestoft Police Station on 101, quoting reference CAD 388 of 16 March.
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