A 54-year-old man who died after a fire started at his home may have been overcome by fumes, it has been revealed.

The body of James Ingham, of Higher Antley Street, Accrington, was discovered in an upstairs room after a fire on Tuesday night.

Neighbours raised the alarm shortly before 11am on Wednesday.

The blaze, which had burned itself out by the time firefighters arrived, is believed to have started on a settee.

Police and fire crews are still investigating but the incident is not being treated as suspicious.

Inspector Steve Lee, of Accrington Police, said: "We received a call from the ambulance service saying the body of a man had been found in an upstairs room.

"We cannot confirm the exact cause of death yet but there will be a post mortem examination and the coroner has been informed.

"It would appear something with a flame has gone down the side of a downstairs settee.

"It seems Mr Ingham went to bed and the settee was smouldering. He was probably woken up by smoke and overcome by the fumes.

"There would have been thick, acrid smoke in the house an it is possible Mr Ingham was disorientated, which would explain why he was in a back room.

"The fire was likely to have started between 11pm on Tuesday and 1am on Wednesday but burned itself out."

A spokesman for the fire service said: "We have got to leave our options open at this stage as to what happened."

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