THE brother-in-law of a man who died in a house fire earlier today has spoken of a "harmless person".

Richard Perkins, 37, was trapped in an upstairs bedroom and died in the fire in The Glade, Malvern.

His wife Rosanne and three step-children Katie, 17; Ben, 18, and 22-year-old Shaun, all managed to escape. It is understood that two of the survivors are still in intensive care.

Thirty firefighters tackled the blaze, which started at 1.30am today, after receiving about 15 emergency phone calls from distressed residents.

Fire investigators were waiting to enter the house this afternoon to try and find a cause, and sniffer dogs from Wales will be used in the investigation.

A police cordon currently surrounds the house.

Jim Loveridge, Mr Perkin’s brother in-law, said: “Richard will be sadly missed, I have known him for 30 years, he was quiet as a mouse - he was a harmless person.”

Neighbour Mandy Harris said she helped rescue the family when she heard people screaming next door.

“I was about to nod off and I could hear next door screaming ‘somebody help,’” she said.

“I ran outside and rang the fire brigade and within seconds the whole place was on fire.”

Another resident, who did not want to be named, said: “We just can’t believe it, nobody deserves that.”

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