A woman died in a house fire in south Oxford on Christmas morning.

The woman, who has not yet been named by police but was thought to be about 50, was found by firefighters called to a terraced house in Summerfield, near Lake Street, off Abingdon Road, shortly before 5am.

Three crews from Rewley Road were joined by colleagues from The Slade in tackling the severe blaze on the first floor of the house. Flames reached the rear roof and spread to the adjoining property, which was unoccupied at the time.

Eighteen firefighters attended the blaze and found the body during a search.

No-one else was in the building at the time of the fire.

Assistant Divisional Officer Steve Harrison, who led the teams, said: "On arrival we were faced with a severe fire on the first floor. The crews found the woman's body and it was evident she was deceased. The fire had gone through the roof at the rear and caused damage to next-door as well.

"Investigations as to the cause are still being carried out, but there is nothing to indicate that it was anything other than accidental."

Meanwhile, a charity shop escaped being gutted by a blaze after arsonists set fire to a bin. A neighbouring shopkeeper spotted smoke at the back of the PDSA shop in Church Walk, Banbury, between 1pm and 2pm on December 22.

Firefighters extinguished the blaze before it could spread to the shop.

Marissa Silvester, shop manager, said: "The fire brigade must have got here just in time. The shop's yard is just black and there's nothing left of the bin.

"This has happened before and I don't know what to do to prevent it.

"My team and I are horrified the shop has been targeted in this way. Valuable funds must now be spent on replacing our bin and clearing up the damage, which reduces the amount of money we can raise for the charity."