TRIBUTES have been paid to an elderly woman who died in a house fire in Weymouth.

The body of a woman in her eighties was discovered in a house after emergency services were called to a fire at a property on Rutland Road at 9.50am on Wednesday, September 3.

The death is not being treated as suspicious and the woman’s next of kin have been informed.

The woman has been named locally as Dorothy Warr.

Peter Vallance has lived next door to Dorothy for around 40 years.

He said: “We saw some smoke in the morning, but there weren’t any flames.”

“Dorothy was a lovely lady and she was very bright for her age, I think she was about 81.

“It’s a great loss, she was a very nice lady, we always used to see her about and she was always very friendly. We had a spare key so if she wasn’t well she used to give us a call and we would go and help her out.”

Neighbours said Dorothy lived alone and had some trouble getting around.

Phil Stone, whose daughter lives opposite Ms Warr, said: “I came over yesterday and saw two or three fire engines and around six police but there wasn’t any smoke when I arrived.

“I didn’t really know the lady as I don’t think she was able to get around a lot anymore but it’s very sad to hear.”

Angela Chaffers, of Corporation Road, saw the incident from her house.

She said: “We didn’t see a lot but we could see it was in the front bedroom. When they got in and opened the doors and windows a lot of smoke came out.

“The lady who lived there had lived here for a long time, the whole time I’ve been here.

“We weren’t sure if she still lived there as we hadn’t seen her for quite a while.

“She was a nice lady and was always very polite. I will always remember seeing her walking her little dog.”

A joint investigation by police and the fire service is now underway to find out the cause of the fire

A spokesman for Dorset Police said: “At 9:53am on Wednesday Dorset Police responded to a report of a house fire on Rutland Road in Weymouth.

“Sadly a woman in her eighties died in the incident and the next of kin have been informed.

“The death is not being treated as suspicious but, in conjunction with Dorset Fire and Rescue Service, enquiries are ongoing to establish the cause of the fire and the coroner has been notified.”

A spokesman for the ambulance service said an elderly woman was found dead at the scene.

He said: “We sent two rapid response cars and a land ambulance.”

But he added unfortunately there was nothing they could do and the woman was confirmed dead at the scene.