Updated: Fire service confirms house fire was fatal (From Gazette)

Specialist sniffer dogs discover body in Colchester house

7:30am Thursday 29th April 2010 in Video By Emily Parsons

AT least one person has died in a house fire in Colchester.

Firefighters were called to the blaze at about 1.25am yesterday in Land Lane, off East Hill, Colchester.

Seven fire engines, plus a support vehicle and the Urban Search and Rescue Team based at Lexden, where all needed to help control the fire in the two-storey house.

The man who lives at the imposing 19th century house has not been seen since yesterday, and police are becoming increasingly concerned for the welfare of both him and his elderly mother.

Specialist firefighters from the USAR team spent hours shoring up the house to prevent it from collapsing, before it could be searched.

Eventually specialist search dogs from Surrey Police were sent into the building to search for the two people.

At 4pm, firefighters confirmed that at least one body, possibly two, had been found inside the house.

The scene has now been handed over to police for further investigations into the cause of the blaze.

• FULL STORY AND PICTURES IN THURSDAY'S GAZETTE