LUCKER FIRE LATEST: The moment a shocked villager saw house engulfed in flames

By the time James Tait first noticed the fire, the house was already engulfed in flames and all he could do was alert emergency services.

Two people are believed to have died in the fire which severely damaged the terraced house next to the Apple Inn.

James said: “It was just after 5am when I heard a couple of noises. I thought it was someone maybe in my back yard.

“I got up, looked out of my window and saw a bright orange glow. The fire was already through the roof by then.

“Your first reaction is to help but by that point, the fire was well alight. It’s quite difficult to get your head around what has happened.”

He said he believed the house had been rented by an elderly couple for about three years. He had regularly seen the man walking his dogs around the village.

Earlier, Coun Lance Robson, who is chairman of Adderstone with Lucker Parish Council, described the incident as ‘a tragedy for the whole village’.

He said: “It is the second time in the last 30 years where people have lost their lives in fires in Lucker. There was a fire at Lucker Hall in 1987 when the owner and his wife died.”

Police and the fire service are carrying out inquiries into the cause of the fire.