A smoke alarm could have saved a 98-year-old man who died when his Wickford bungalow burnt to the ground this morning, firefighters claimed.

Neighbours of the semi-detached house in Oakhurst Drive, Wickford, dialled 999 at 4am this morning after being woken by the noise of a fire.

Station officer Doug Sylvester, from Basildon fire station, said his crew could see the flames from the A127 as they rushed to the scene.

He said: "When we arrived the house was completely on fire and it was obvious it had been going for some time.

"The house had practically burnt down before the neighbours had been woken up."

Mr Sylvester said: "It looks like the fire started in the man's bedroom and there was no smoke alarm, so he wouldn't have woken up until it was well alight. He stood no chance at all."

The fire is not thought to be suspicious, but a fire investigation team was this morning searching through the rubble to find out exactly how it started.