A PENSIONER saw his home go up in flames just two weeks after his wife of 43 years died of cancer.

Richard Fuller, 75, awoke to the smell of smoke and the crackling of fire overhead early yesterday as fire ripped through his bungalow in Melstock Avenue, Preston.

The inferno engulfed the roof and left it structurally unsafe.

The fire, believed to have been started by an electrical fault in the loft, was the second tragedy in as many weeks for Mr Fuller.

After a three-year battle, his wife Pearl, 75, sadly died of myeloma, a type of cancer in the plasma cells of the body, on April 20. Her funeral is due to take place on Friday at Weymouth Crematorium.

Mr Fuller said: “She died 14 days ago after suffering from cancer and then this happens. She was blind and if she had been in there with me it could have been much worse.

“We had friends coming for the funeral but I can’t ask them back to the house now. Some are coming from a long way away.”

The couple had known each other for 60 years and first met in primary school before dating later in life.

They were described by their son Mark as being ‘soul partners’.

Mr Fuller, a retired lecturer at a nautical college, who used to teach firefighting, said he always went round turning all plugs and appliances off every night.

He said: “I woke up at 2am and everything was fine. I then woke up after 3am to the smell of smoke.

“I went out into the corridor and I looked up and I could see the glow of the fire around the loft hatch and could hear the crackling and I thought ‘blimey, it’s alight.’”

Mr Fuller went to the front door and heard firefighters banging to get in. Plaster was coming down from the roof so he went round to the back to find a firefighter coming in to get him.

He said: “The firefighter said to me, ‘Quick get out.’ I came out in my pyjamas. They wouldn’t let me back in.”

Mr Fuller thanked the firefighters who saved him and the mystery Good Samaritan who was driving past and raised the alarm.

He said: “I’m very grateful. They saved my life. The firefighters were brilliant. They were professional, very efficient and kept us informed.”

n Mr Fuller would like to thank the person who called the fire service. Do you know this unsung hero? If so please contact Catherine Bolado on 01305 830985 or email