An 84-year-old man has died after a fire in a bedroom of a town house in Farsley.

The elderly occupant was rescued from the first floor bedroom onto the landing by a neighbour before firefighters arrived, took him outside and tried to resuscitate him.

He was taken to hospital but he was pronounced dead a short time later.

The blaze, which started at around 2.30pm yesterday at the house in New Park Croft, involved an armchair.

Fire investigation officers were last night trying to establish the cause of the fire. But police are not treating the blaze as suspicious.

A smoke detector was fitted on the ground floor of the property but was not in working order.

Sean Fearon, watch manager at Stanningley fire station, said: “Had the alarm been working it is possible that he and his neighbours may have been alerted to the fire earlier.”

West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service offer free home fire safety visits, which include fitting fire alarms.

For more information call 0800 587 4536.