BLAZE victim Anne Llewellyn was heartbroken by the death of her boyfriend who lost his fight against cancer, according to the neighbour who raised the alarm in a bid to save her life.

Friends and neighbours paid tribute to the 55-year-old mum-of-three, who was trapped in her three-bedroom house in Whitethorn Way, Blackbird Leys, Oxford, on Monday morning.

An investigation has been carried out but the cause of the fire has not yet been revealed.

Flowers and a sympathy card were left outside the burnt-out house in memory of the mother who was described as a "lovely woman" and "the salt of the earth".

Neighbours told how the intense heat of the blaze, which claimed Mrs Llewellyn's life in minutes, blew out the windows of her terrace home. She is understood to have died in the living room where the fire began.

Paul Dawson, 47, who lives two doors away and rang the fire brigade when he saw smoke pouring from his neighbour's house, said: "I went round the back to see if I could do anything, but the whole place was swirling with flames. There was nothing I could do.

"Anne lived with her son Jason and he was at work when the fire happened. She was a very nice woman and used to come round for coffee. "She was heartbroken when her boyfriend Eric died from cancer the Christmas before last and I don't think she ever got over it.

"She was depressed for a while and I used to go to the chemist for her and pick up her tablets.

"What has happened has come as a real shock and I only hope she didn't suffer."

Another family friend, who lives in nearby Kestrel Crescent, but asked not to be named, said Mrs Llewellyn had two sons and a daughter and several grandchildren.

Vera Stoffel, 59, who also lives in Kestrel Crescent, described Mrs Llewellyn's death as a tragedy.

She said: "Anne was very hurt by the death of her boyfriend. I think she would have married him in the end."

Fire accident investigators, police and Home Office forensic experts have been sifting through the wreckage to establish the cause of the blaze.

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