Woman's blaze death 'unexplained'

The death of a woman whose body was found by firefighters as they tackled a blaze in a flat is being treated as "unexplained", police said today.

The unidentified woman, who is believed to be in her late 20s, was discovered shortly before midnight last night after a neighbour alerted the emergency services to the fire in the rear first-floor flat in Upper Lewes Road, Brighton.

Detective Chief Inspector Adam Hibbert of Sussex Police's major crime branch, which is investigating the woman's death, said it was not yet known whether she died as a result of the fire.

A post-mortem examination was due to be carried out later today but the body remained in the property.

Speaking at the scene, he said: "Just before midnight the fire brigade was responding to a call to this address, which we attended as well.

"The fire brigade was making the scene safe in terms of extinguishing the fire when the body of a female was found.

"The circumstances in which she was found mean we can't at this moment ascertain how and why she died."

The cause of the fire is also unknown.

Fire investigators were working at the scene today to determine how it started while forensics officers could be seen coming and going from the small block of flats, which remained cordoned off with police tape.

A spokeswoman for East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service said three crews were sent to the incident at 11.39pm yesterday and spent an hour and 20 minutes at the scene.

Other residents in the three-storey building left the address safely and were being re-housed by the local authority.