A MAN in his 20s has died after a fire broke out in a terraced house.

East Anglian Daily Times: Essex County Fire and Rescue Service and Essex police work at the scene of a fire at Stanley Road in Clacton Monday afternoon.Essex County Fire and Rescue Service and Essex police work at the scene of a fire at Stanley Road in Clacton Monday afternoon. (Image: Archant)

Essex Fire and Rescue confirmed there was a fatality following the blaze in Stanley Road, Clacton-on-Sea, just before 10.30am on Monday.

An Essex police spokesman said the body of the victim, in his 20s, was discovered inside the building an hour after emergency services arrived on scene. He added the cause of the fire is not yet known and a post mortem examination into the man’s death will be held later this week.

It is believed neighbours rescued a woman and a baby from the burning house by getting a ladder to a first-floor bedroom window and bringing them to safety.

Assistant divisional officer Paul Nash, incident commander, said: “When crews arrived at the scene, they were faced with a severe fire on both the ground and first floor.

“They had to work in punishing conditions, mainly inside as it was a mid-terraced property to make a search of the building for the man believed to be missing inside and to fight the fire itself.

“Fortunately neighbours were able to get onto a flat roof to smash a bedroom window to bring a woman and small child out of the building before we got here.

“Unfortunately, we were not able to save the man that perished in the fire and our thoughts are obviously with his family now.”

Fire investigators and police teams have begun an investigation into the cause of the incident.

An Essex police spokesman said: “Officers arrived to find the fire well alight and evacuated neighbours while the firefighters tackled the house blaze. At this stage the cause of the fire is unknown.

“Several people were treated by paramedics and taken to Colchester General Hospital after inhaling smoke.

“An hour later a man in his 20s was found dead inside the property.

“A post mortem examination will take place later this week to establish the cause of the man’s death. After that, a decision will be taken to see how the investigation progresses.”