THE death of an elderly wom-an who was engulfed by flames is being investigated by police.

Nursing staff found 83-year-old widow Madge Carter with her clothes on fire at the Stoneleigh nursing and residential home, in Annfield Plain, County Durham, on Monday night.

The great grandmother was taken to the Newcastle Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) burns unit for treatment but died yesterday morning.

Staff at the private home had doused the flames with wet blankets and towels before calling the emergency services. They had been alerted by fire alarms at about 9pm.

Mrs Carter received emergency treatment at the home, in New Durham Road, before being taken to the University Hospital of North Durham. She was then transferred to the RVI. Her family, from the Stanley area, were at her bedside when she died, at breakfast time yesterday.

Detectives from Stanley, who have launched an inquiry, have called in a fire scene examiner from the Home Office laboratory, in Wetherby, North Yorkshire. A Home Office pathologist was due to carry out a post- mortem examination last night.

The investigating officer, Detective Inspector Simon Orton, said it was too soon to draw any conclusions on how Mrs Carter's clothing caught fire. He was keeping an open mind on all the circumstances surrounding the death.

He said: "I plan to interview all the members of staff who were on duty, to determine the exact sequence of events.

"I need to be satisfied nothing untoward has happened that could have resulted in this tragedy. I'm looking to forensic and scientific evidence to help the inquiry to move forward.

"At the moment, my thoughts are with Mrs Carter's family and nursing staff who were confronted with this dreadful situation."

Clive Pratt, station officer at Consett fire station, said: "She was in the upstairs lounge but the fire had been extinguished by the time we arrived. I can say she was very badly burned." He said there was hardly any damage to the property.

No one from the nursing home would comment yesterday.