A LANCASTER pensioner is fighting for her life following a blaze at her Willow Lane home.

Sylvia Darwen, 74, suffered serious burns to her body after her bed caught fire.

Firefighters who attended the scene said she would have certainly died if it had not been for the prompt action of her neighbours.

They raised the alarm after smelling smoke and seeing flickering at the pensioner's bedroom window.

Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus fought their way through the thick smoke to rescue Mrs Darwen who was unconscious and had stopped breathing.

Paramedics revived her breathing before she was taken to Royal Lancaster Infirmary where she is said to be "very poorly."