INVESTIGATIONS are continuing into a house fire in which an elderly woman died.

A 75-year-old woman was found dead during a blaze at her home in King John Avenue, Bearwood.

Several concerned neighbours called the fire service just before midnight on Sunday.

Fifteen firefighters battled the severe blaze in the end-of-terrace house but the woman's body was discovered upstairs.

She was the only occupant of the house and had lived there for 30 years.

The fire service and police evacuated the occupants of two nearby houses at midnight.

Yesterday the fire service and the police were at the scene investigating the cause of the fire.

Group manager Craig Baker from the Dorset Fire and Rescue Service said: "The fire was in the upstairs of the property. We broke down the front door and discovered the casualty upstairs.

"What makes this all the more saddening, is the fact that this lady, as with so many other victims, did have a smoke alarm in the downstairs of the property but the battery was not working.

"It is too early to say what caused the fire and we need to do more investigation."

He added that crews from Redhill Park, Ferndown and Wimborne attended the fire.

According to a police spokesman there is nothing to suggest the fire was suspicious.

Neighbour Carol Newcombe described the scene as "horrific".

She said: "I just did not know what to do. Flames were coming out of the window at the front and at the side. It is just awful.

"I knew her for 32 years she was very friendly and you could have a laugh with her. She was a very jolly lady."

Another neighbour Maureen Arthur said: "She was very happy and always ready to chat."

Yesterday neighbours were laying flowers as a tribute on the lawn outside the house.

The dead woman, who has not yet been named, was taken to the mortuary in Poole hospital.