A GRIEVING neighbour has paid tribute to the woman who died in a house fire today.

Ninety-nine-year-old Pauline Jones died when her three bedroom bungalow in Mount Orchard, Tenbury Wells, caught fire in the early hours.

Neighbour and good friend Elma Meredith described Mrs Jones as an intelligent woman who shall be missed by many people.

“Pauline was a very intelligent lady, she was very 'with it',” she said.

“I shall miss her terribly, I wish she had not died like that.”

Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service was called to the blaze at 5.54am and when crews arrived flames were shooting through the roof.

Teams of firefighters with breathing apparatus found Mrs Jones in her bedroom and carried her outside to a waiting ambulance.

A spokesman for West Midlands Ambulance Service said: “On arrival at the scene, crews found an elderly woman who had been rescued from the fire by the fire service.

“Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of ambulance crews nothing could be done to save the woman and she was confirmed dead at the scene.”

Mrs Meredith described the moment she realised her neighbour’s home was on fire.

“A couple from Wales were driving by and saw the smoke and they called the fire service,” she said.

“It was just a big fireball, it was terrible. I just prayed they would get her out alive.”

Mrs Jones moved to Mount Orchard in 1970 after retiring as head mistress from Pensax Primary School, near Stockton-on-Teme.

She was a keen gardner and member of the local operatic society.

She never had children and was widowed in 1999 when her husband Hayden died.

“I visited her five-times-a-day and every night we would watch the Weakest Link together,” 78-year-old Mrs Meredith said.

“Last night she said to me, ‘Em you will never know how precious you are to me.’ “I just cannot get over what has happened.”

The fire started in the lounge of the bungalow and an investigation is being carried out to find out the cause of the blaze.

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