Body of elderly woman who died in Stoke fire still to be formally identified

Police are still looking into the cause of a fatal and devastating house fire which killed an elderly woman in Nelson earlier this week.

Police said an elderly couple lived at the single-story home on Main Rd, Stoke, behind the Elim Christian Centre.

Until formal identification was completed police were not in a position to release her name, but a post-mortem examination had been completed.

A man managed to get out and was with family, police said on Wednesday.

The fire ravaged the single-story home in the early hours of Wednesday morning, and police warned it was so severe formal identification of the body could take several days.

Fire Service experts and police investigators were working their way through the scene to establish the cause of the fire, which is a difficult task due to the extent of the damage.

Police said until this process has been completed, no further information would be available.