THE woman who was found dead at the scene of a Netherton house fire has been named locally as Gillian Howard.

Shocked friends and neighbours have left flowers outside the 67-year-old's Spring Road home, which was gutted by flames yesterday morning.

The pensioner had been in ill health and required daily visits from carers from Nationwide Care Services since August last year.

Christina Xiourrouppas, manager of the Dudley branch of the care company, told the News her team had been devastated to hear of Gillian's death, adding: "She was such a lovely, thoughtful lady, we were all very fond of her.

"She was battling an illness and it was really unfortunate what happened yesterday as she already had 101 things on her mind with what she was going through.

"She always put her family first, she used to say her fear of dying was leaving them behind.

"The last day we saw her was Wednesday and she was so full of life and really happy - the happiest we had seen her in a good while."

The whole street is still in shock according to neighbour Donna Collins, who rushed to investigate after seeing smoke and called 999 when she saw the house engulfed in flames.

She described seeing Gillian's distraught daughter lying in the middle of the road, with her phone in her hand, crying "I think my mom's dead".

Donna continued: "I got her out of the road and we sat on my drive - she was hysterical. I asked her how it started and she said she had come downstairs and the fire was already going."

She said she stayed with the 36-year-old daughter, until paramedics arrived and took her to Russells Hall Hospital, where she was treated for smoke inhalation and shock.

Donna said Gillian had lived at the property for a number of years and there had been "a really strange" atmosphere in the street as people came to terms with her death, which is currently being treated as unexplained.

A police investigation is still ongoing and anyone with information should call West Midlands Police on 101.