Man dies in serious flat fire, police confirm

A man has died following a serious flat fire in a suburb of Derby.

Derbyshire Police said it was called by Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service to a property in Rovings Drive, Spondon, just after 07:30 GMT on Thursday.

It comes after firefighters attended the blaze at a ground-floor flat and later said a man in his 30s had died.

Emergency services remain at the scene, police added.

A joint police and fire investigation is currently under way. There are not thought to be any suspicious circumstances.

The fire service said crews wearing breathing apparatus entered the flat and rescued the man, handing him into the care of paramedics, but he died at the scene.

The service sent its condolences to the man's family.

It added firefighters and community safety officers would be in the area over the next few days to offer fire safety advice and reassurance to residents.

Police said the man's family had been informed.

Neighbour Callum Caves, 23, told the BBC he took in a family who fled their upstairs property this morning.

"I noticed the blue lights and saw the fire - I spotted a family stood on the pavement with no shoes on so I offered them to come in to warm up with hot drinks," he said.

"There was a lot of stressed people - the fire brigade were helping out as much as they could do.

"It's quiet around here, I'm shocked, very shocked."

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