A VILLAGER made heroic attempts to save an elderly neighbour from her blazing home, an inquest was told yesterday.

Edith Watson, 77, died on April 29 as a result of smoke inhalation after her home in Hunwick, near Bishop Auckland, County Durham, caught fire.

She never regained consciousness after the blaze a fortnight earlier.

An inquest into Mrs Watson's death resumed yesterday at Bishop Auckland Magistrates Court.

Anthony Pears, from Hunwick, spotted the smoke in Wear View from 50 yards away.

Along with two other men, he broke down a door and tried to rescue Mrs Watson.

They were overwhelmed by the smoke, and it was not until fire crews arrived that Mrs Watson was found unconscious upstairs.

Station officer Alan Gibson, from Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue, carried out an investigation into the blaze.

He told the inquest that clothing drying on a guard in front of her kitchen fire had caught alight.

There were no smoke alarms in the house and Mrs Watson was thought to have been asleep on her bed upstairs.

Her furniture did not comply with modern fire restrictions, and had released large amounts of toxic smoke.

Audrey Barlow, a friend of the widow, said she had been trying to get the heating modernised in Mrs Watson's house prior to her death.

She said the council was in the process of renovating the home. Social services had told her it agreed to the work, but said there was a priority list.

Darlington and South West Durham Coroner Colin Penna said the rescue efforts to save Mrs Watson were appreciated.

He recorded a verdict of accidental death.