NEIGHBOURS of a man who died in a flat fire in Suffolk in the early hours have spoken of their shock.

A MAN in his 30s has died following a fire which tore through his Suffolk flat.

Emergency services were called to the scene in Mill Park Gardens, Mildenhall, shortly after 3.30am.

A 34-year-old man was rescued from the ground floor property, but was pronounced dead a short time later.

Best-friends Nikita Gillentine and Chelsy Newbon were woken up by the commotion.

Miss Newbon, 20, said everyone was feeling shocked and shaken up. She added: “And very, very lucky in a way it didn’t spread.”

She said you did not expect such a terrible thing to happen right outside your front door.

Paul Goodman, station manager at Bury St Edmunds Fire Station, said a resident in the flat above had alerted the fire service.

He said appliances from Mildenhall and Newmarket attended, and it involved about 20 firefighters.

The crew from Mildenhall forced entry and rescued a man, who they handed over to the ambulance service, but they were unable to resuscitate him.

The fire was out within about an hour.

Mr Goodman said: “If anyone is affected by this or requires any fire safety advice for the home they should contact Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service on 01473 260588.”

A police spokeswoman said: “A joint police and fire service investigation has been carried out following a fatal flat fire in Mill Park Gardens.

“The death of a 34 year old man following the fire is not being treated as suspicious but remains unexplained and a post mortem examination will be carried out in due course. “The coroner has been notified.”

For the full story read tomorrow’s EADT.