Thorne woman is killed in house fire
A WHEELCHAIR-bound woman who died in a house fire in Thorne was believed to be asleep at the time.
Valerie Hill, 49, was pronounced dead at her semi-detached bungalow in Hawthorne Road, Thorne.
Neighbours told the Gazette that she lived on her own and used a wheelchair to get around.
Fire crews from Thorne and Doncaster were called to the property just before 10pm last Thursday.
Neil Bough, station manager for Edlington, said that when they arrived Ms Hill was found in her bed but had already passed away.
It was later confirmed that the fire was accidental.
He said: "There was no sign of any smoke when we arrived at the property until we got into the bedroom.
"We put out a small fire in the bedroom and discovered a casualty in bed.
"Her smoke alarms did go off and there was very little damage to her room.
"A South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said officers found cigarettes and lighters in Ms Hill's bedroom and evidence of smoking after the fire last Thursday."
Det Sgt Dave Robertson said: "The fire looks like it happened in one of the bedrooms at the back of the house.
"Officers carried out forensic tests the morning after the fire.
"There were no suspicious circumstances but we will continue to investigate the incident."
On the same night around 4,000 homes were affected by a power cut for nearly two hours.
Electricians were called to both Thorne and Moorends at around 5.30pm to carry out maintenance repairs.
A CE Electric UK spokesman said: "Our staff returned power to over half of properties within a quarter of an hour and had restored power to all properties by just after 7pm.
"The cause of the power cut was found to be a fault on a high-voltage underground cable."
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Weather for Thorne
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 26 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: East
