Neighbours of a man who died in a flat fire in Suffolk in the early hours of yesterday have spoken of their shock.

Neighbours of a man who died in a flat fire in Suffolk in the early hours have spoken of their shock.

Emergency services were called to the scene in Mill Park Gardens, Mildenhall, shortly after 3.30am.

A man was rescued from the ground floor property, but was pronounced dead a short time later.

Best-friends Nikita Gillentine and Chelsy Newbon were woken up by the commotion.

Miss Newbon, 20, said everyone was feeling shocked and shaken up. She added: 'And very, very lucky in a way it didn't spread.'

She said she did not expect such a terrible thing to happen right outside your front door.

Paul Goodman, station manager at Bury St Edmunds Fire Station, said a resident in the flat above had alerted the fire service.

He said appliances from Mildenhall and Newmarket attended, and it involved about 20 firefighters.

The crew from Mildenhall forced entry and rescued a man, who they handed over to the ambulance service, but they were unable to resuscitate him.

The fire was out within about an hour.

Mr Goodman said: 'If anyone is affected by this or requires any fire safety advice for the home they should contact Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service on 01473 260588.'

A joint fire and police investigation is now under way.