FIREFIGHTERS tried in vain this afternoon to save the life of a puppy which was caught in a burning house in Clacton.

James Hore

FIREFIGHTERS tried in vain this afternoon to save the life of a puppy which was caught in a burning house in Clacton.

Crews were called to a bungalow in Saxmundham Way just after 2pm after an elderly couple returned home to find their property was on fire.

The blaze broke out after a washing machine caught light and crews spent about 20 minutes using oxygen therapy to try to revive the dog which breathed in the smoke.

Sub officer Simon Bates said: “It was an elderly couple and they had put a load of washing in their machine and gone out.

“When they returned after around an hour they found a fire.

“The washing machine had caught light and that had set fire to the tumble drier and some kitchen unit filling the entire property with smoke.

“Unfortunately their dog, which was only six months or a year old, was inside the entire time and has suffocated in the thick smoke.

“The crew tried to help the dog for around 20 minutes.

“We gave it oxygen therapy but it was all to no avail and we were unable to revive it.”