A 71-YEAR-OLD woman has died after suffering severe burns in a fire at her care home.

A newsagent pulled two other residents to safety after the blaze broke out at Priory Court care home, in Wardley, Gateshead.

But smoke prevented Tim Thompson from reaching the woman, who was in her flat.

She was carried from the building by firefighters, but later died in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Gateshead.

Northumbria Police believe the fire was started by a cigarette.

Mr Thompson, who works at a newsagent in the care home complex, said: "All the alarms started going off and I just tried to get the residents out.

"I pulled two out - I just opened the doors to their rooms - but I couldn't get to another elderly resident and she later died.

"I just couldn't get into her room. I tried, but the smoke was too black and thick. What can you say after something like this has happened? In my eyes I have failed. I could not do enough for her.

"When the fire started, I didn't know what to do. You are not trained for this sort of thing. I knew I could not stand outside and watch it happen. I had to get in and try to help the residents.

I'm not a hero."

Police have not yet named the dead woman.

The fire started in a living room of a first-floor flat. Two fire crews from Washington and two from Hebburn were called to the scene at 3.38pm on Friday.

Police helped evacuate the home. A female resident and a female worker at the complex were treated for smoke inhalation before being taken to hospital.

A spokeswoman for Housing 21, which runs the home, said: "We are all greatly saddened by the incident. Fortunately, the fire was in a relatively small area of the court, and there were not more extensive casualties.

"We are all extremely grateful to all who helped."