Man dies in house fire

FIREFIGHTERS launched a safety campaign following the death of an 83-year-old man in a house fire.

Fire crews received reports of a man trapped upstairs in a mid-terraced house in Herbert Street, Watersheddings on Saturday morning. The blaze was confined to the bedroom but is believed to have been smouldering for some time.

The man had been asleep and the house had no smoke alarm.

The cause of the fire is being investigated by the police and fire service.

Yesterday, firefighters were knocking on doors in the local area to advise residents that they could have smoke alarms fitted free.