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Former Navy officer dies in Wakefield after dropping cigarette on clothes

Friday, 1 September 2017 07:00

By News @sunriseradiouk

A former Royal Navy officer died after dropping a cigarette at his Wakefield home which ignited his clothes and left him with severe burns.

Neighbours battled to save 86-year-old Eric Shepherd, after they realised that a fire had taken hold in the living room of his home on Hudswell Street, Wakefield, on the evening of 18 January, 2017.

An inquest on Wednesday, 30 August, heard how fire crews attended the scene at around 10.20pm. Prior to this, three neighbours tried their best to save Mr Shepherd but he was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.

An investigation concluded the most likely cause of the fire was a dropped cigarette on Mr Shepherd’s clothes.

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