A fire which ripped through a bungalow and killed an elderly widow could have been prevented, firefighters said.

Ethel Dempsey, believed to be in her 80s, was found dead in her bungalow in Guernsey Gardens, Wickford.

A passer-by smelt smoke at around 8.30am on Friday morning but could not see where it was coming from.

The fire service were not called until 9.25am. When they arrived the woman, who neighbours say lost her husband to cancer around 12 years ago, was dead in the hall way.

The firefighters brought the woman out of the smoke-filled bungalow and put her on the grass before putting out the fire, which started in the kitchen.

The fire crew from Wickford were joined by one from Basildon, police officers, a paramedic manager and an ambulance.

Wickford sub officer Vic Roberts said: "We consider this a preventable death. We could not find any trace of a working fire alarm.

"If there was one, someone may have heard it before she died. This passer-by may have heard it and we could have got there earlier."

He added: "Our aim is to try and prevent these tragedies.

"It is very distressing when you sit back and think the person could have lived out their life and died naturally."