THE death of a grandmother killed in a ferocious fire has been ruled an accident.

Former Rishton chippy owner Nellie Shaw, 84, was overcome by toxic fumes when flames ripped through her large detached house in the Ribble Valley in March.

Her husband Philip, also in his 80s, escaped and was found outside by passing motorists.

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Mr Shaw suffers from dementia and the inquest heard he could not remember what had happened.

The pair, who met aged 17, ran Shaw’s Fish and Chips, also known a ‘Nellies’, in High Street for 34 years before they retired. An inquest held yesterday heard how experts were unable to say exactly how the dawn blaze started.

Sitting at Clitheroe Town Hall, coroner Michael Singleton recorded a verdict of accidental death and said it will never be clear what happened.

Witnesses called included fire investigator Malcolm Dewhurst, who described how a two-day investigation into the blazes’s cause proved fruitless, although its origin was found to be in the centre of the couple’s living room.

Neither Nellie or Philip smoked, candles had not been used, while arson was also ruled out.

Investigators instead focused on an open fire often used instead of central heating to save money, the court heard.

Mr Dewhurst said: “Initial thoughts were, ‘could something have rolled off the fire onto the carpet?’ “But a test was done on a piece of carpet and, even with a blowtorch for a minute, it would not ignite.”

Investigators then wondered whether Mr Shaw could have been carrying a tray containing embers from the fire through the house to an outside bin for emptying.

However, the ash tray was found hooked into place while the fire guard was also in front of the fireplace when firefighters gained entry.

Mrs Shaw’s granddaughter Lauren visited the large converted barn, at Barrow Garden Farm, opposite the entrance of Clitheroe Golf Club, off Whalley Road, the night before the fire.

She said the pair often had the fire roaring and would take turns cleaning out a tray kept underneath it to collect the ash.

She told the hearing: “When the fire first happened, I asked him where he was and he gave me two stories, one where he was in the living room and one where he was outside.

“A week later he could not remember and, very recently, he felt like he was in the fire but couldn’t remember what happened.”

Council gritter William Neil, who was returning to a depot in the area at around 5.30am on Tuesday, March 3, and Jonathan Greaves, who was travelling towards Clitheroe from Manchester Airport, told the court they saw the house on fire from a considerable distance before going to help.

Mr Neil said: “The downstairs window was burnt out and you could see through to the back of the house.

“I ran round the back and saw Mr Shaw. He looked like he had chalk on him and he had a small piece of red carpet in his hand.

“When I approached him, he was confused. I asked him if anybody else was in the house. At the time I thought he said either ‘four or more’.”

The court heard the carpet was usually kept underneath a coal bucket in the front room, close to where the fire started.

Mr Greaves, who called 999, said he put Mr Shaw in the back of his car.

“It was really cold and there were a few flakes of snow,” he said. “He was really cold and confused.

“There was no way we could do anything apart from getting him a bit more comfortable.”

Firefighters found Mrs Shaw’s body within the house.

A post-mortem examination revealed she had died after being overcome by toxic smoke.

Coroner Michael Singleton said the cause of death was carbon monoxide poisoning which could explain why she made no visible effort to escape the inferno.

He said: “It’s not possible to conclude what the case of the fire was. It seems more likely than not it was the open fire, but it would be pure speculation as to what happened.”