A ELDERLY man has died after a house fire in a North Yorkshire village.

The blaze broke out at the property in Egton, near Whitby, on Friday afternoon.

Crews from Whitby, Lythe and Danby arrived at the incident after being alerted around 2.15pm and used hose reels to fight the flames.

At 9.45pm North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue said they still had officers at the property - a detached cottage.

"Fire crews still on scene, unfortunately one elderly male was found fatal, investigation still ongoing," wrote a spokesman on Twitter.

Police and ambulance services were also called to the scene and an investigation is underway.

Speaking to The Northern Echo on Friday night, a spokeswoman for the Fire and Rescue Service said: "It looks to have started in the kitchen and then it is has spread to the rest of the property.

"At the time of the call we didn't know there was anybody in (the property)."