Man dies in fire

The man had lived in the house all his life

An elderly man has died in a fire in Newtownards, County Down.

The blaze, at a house in Court Street, was discovered about 1700 GMT on Wednesday.

The fire began in a downstairs living room and the man, thought to have been in his 80s, was found in the kitchen.

The fire brigade carried the man out of the house, but he died at the scene.

Severe blaze

Fire officer Bill Willsden said the pensioner had lived in the house for most of his life.

"He had accumulated a lot of furniture and things inside the house which made it quite difficult for the fire fighters to go in and do their job," he said.

"The fire was burning in the back living room. It was quite a severe fire."

The alarm was raised by a neighbour who spotted smoke coming from the house.

It is not known how the blaze started and the police are expected to investigate the incident.