A man has died following a fire in a flat yesterday afternoon.

Firefighters were called to Gravel Close, Chigwell, at 3.25pm to tackle a blaze in a first floor flat.

Fire crews in breathing apparatus made a search of the property and found the man, who was in his 40s, unconscious.

Attempts to resuscitate the man were unsuccessful.

The fire was extinguished by 4.41pm, with police and ambulance crews also attending the incident.

A joint police and fire service investigation to establish the cause of the fire is underway.

An Essex Police spokeswoman said: “His death is being treated as non-suspicious but unexplained.”