A NEIGHBOUR has spoken of his shock after a woman died following a fire in a Suffolk flat.

A NEIGHBOUR has spoken of his shock after a woman died following a fire in a Suffolk flat.

Emergency services were called to a ground-floor flat in Brandon Road, Mildenhall, just before 3am this morning.

Fire crews tackled the blaze and found a woman, believed to be in her 60's, in the kitchen. She was rescued from the property but died soon afterwards.

Police have cordoned off the area while scenes of crime officers conduct forensic tests.

Police said they will not be releasing the woman's name until her next of kin have been informed.

The fire is not believed to be suspicious, but a full-scale investigation has been launched.

Neighbour Hein Muller, who was awoken by his carbon monoxide alarm, said: “I initially thought it was a gas leak but when I went into my living room I felt the floor was fairly hot and there was smoke coming in from downstairs.

“The lady who passed away was a very nice woman who everyone got on well with. I believe she had lived in the apartment for a long time and this is very upsetting for everyone who lived there.”

Residents have been evacuated from their properties for a large part of day while police and fire crews carry out their investigation.

Assistant Divisional Officer Paul Goodman, of Suffolk Fire Service, said: “We can confirm that a crew carried out a rescue of a lady from one of the flats.

“The fire was brought under control within about 20 minutes and we preserved the scene so the investigation could start very quickly.”