BULWELL BLAZE: body to be moved

An "extremely intense" blaze ripped through the property on South Snape Close in the Snape Wood area of the town just before 3 am on Thursday (June 25).

Twenty-five firefighters were needed to bring the flames under control.

But investigators were not able to enter the house until 11.30 am on Friday (June 26) after it had been made structurally safe.

Once inside, they found the body on the first floor.

The victim has yet to be formally identified, although police believe it to be that of the woman who lived at the address. She has been named locally as Sue Southern, who is in her 50s.

Her husband, 55-year-old Tony Southern, managed to escape the fire and has been released from the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham after receiving treatment for smoke inhalation and burns.

He is being supported by family members and police family-liaison officers.

The body will be moved as soon as possible and a post-mortem will take place to establish the exact cause of death.

In the meantime, police officers continue to conduct a detailed forensic examination of the property.

They are also carrying out house-to-house inquiries and a search of the surrounding area for evidence linked to the fire.

Two men – a 35-year-old who was arrested at the scene and an 18-year-old who was arrested nearby – continue to be questioned by detectives in connection with the blaze.

Back on South Snape Close, where floral tributes were being laid, neighbours expressed their disbelief.

Rebecca Gill (25) has known the Southerns for about 20 years. When she was a child, she played with their daughter.

"It must be Sue in there," she said. "It is so upsetting. I can't believe it.

"I didn't know anything about it until I got up in the morning and my friend told me. She told me she had heard a man screaming that his wife was in there."

Eyewitnesses described Mr Southern as frantic with grief after fleeing from the house.

"He kept screaming: my wife's in there, my wife's in there," said neighbour Alison Evans.

"In the end, the police had to force him to the ground and handcuff him to keep him calm."

Other residents told how flames from the fire soared more than 20 feet above the roof of the house.

Melissa Prime (27), who lives on South Snape Close, said her smoke alarm went off twice in the night but she didn't realise what had happened until the morning.

"I could not believe it when I saw the house," she said. "It is all such a shock."

The Southerns are said to have lived at the address for many years. It is believed they have four daughters and several grandchildren.

The body of their dog, believed to be called Billy, has already been removed from the gutted house.

Liz Reeson, communications officer for Notts Fire and Rescue Service, said flames poured out of all the windows.

One firefighter said: "The whole of the house was engulfed by the fire. We have had to use our high-rise ladder and platform to view the building from above."

Gas and electricity supplies were disconnected and police cordoned off the area around the house. The next-door neighbours were temporarily evacuated.

The cause of the fire is not yet known. Fire-safety leaflets have now been circulated in the surrounding area.

Detective are urging anyone with information about the fire, or anyone who saw anything suspicious in or around South Snape Close, to contact them.

They are also keen to speak to anyone with information about other fires in the Bulwell area in the last few weeks.

Contact should be made with Radford Road CID on 0115 8446997 (extension 4534) or by calling the free and confidential Crimestoppers hotline on 0800 555111.