IT is feared that a dead body found in a house in Little Blakenham is that of an elderly man who lived there.Firefighters and police combed the fire ravaged building in a desperate bid to discover the body of the man, believed to be Frank Dickman who was in his 90s.

IT is feared that a dead body found in a house in Little Blakenham is that of an elderly man who lived there.

Firefighters and police combed the fire ravaged building in a desperate bid to discover the body of the man, believed to be Frank Dickman who was in his 90s.

Fire crews from across Suffolk were called to Six Acre Farm, at a place known as Leather Bottle Hill, in Somersham Road, at about 1.20am after neighbours raised the alarm, having seen smoke coming from the two-storey cottage.

One resident of Leather Bottle Hill, who did not wish to be named, said: "Another neighbour raised the alarm and then we both went down to the cottage to see if we could find the elderly man, who we know lives there.

"We had a look as best we could but we were unable to find him. We do not know if he was in the house at the time."

Five fire crews from Needham Market, Ipswich and Felixstowe were called to the cottage blaze which is 200 yards down a public footpath, just off Somersham Road.

Today the isolated cottage stands completely destroyed by the flames which neighbours say they could see from their homes some distance away.

A police vehicle guards the entrance to the property while fire crews continue damping down the building.

It took firefighters just under three hours to bring the blaze under control but still some eight hours after the fire first broke out, smoke could still be seen coming from the property.

An investigation as to how the fire started was expected to be carried out by fire investigators at midday.