AN elderly woman was fighting for her life in hospital last night after a neighbour rescued her from her burning home.

The woman, in her early 80s, suffered serious burns in the blaze at her home in South View, Northallerton, North Yorkshire.

She was taken first to the Friarage Hospital in Northallerton but, a few hours later, was transferred to Newcastle where yesterday her condition was described as poorly.

The incident happened early on Sunday evening. A local person raised the alarm at about 5.45pm while a neighbour pulled the occupant out of her detached bungalow.

Two fire crews from Northallerton attended the scene for about two hours.

The kitchen suffered serious fire damage and the rest of the bungalow was left smoke-logged.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but cooking equipment is suspected.

Yesterday it emerged that the bungalow did not have smoke detectors installed and fire officers are now repeating their calls for people who don't have detectors in their homes to get them fitted.

"We have been to a number of fires already this year involving elderly people," said spokesman David Pitt yesterday.

"If a fire happens in someone's house, having a correctly-fitted smoke detector can make all the difference."