Neighbours today spoke of their shock after a 57- year-old widower died in his smoke-filled flat.

Firefighters broke into the property on The Trees Estate in Bognor and found the man in his kitchen.

Investigators say they believe the blaze was started with smoking materials but confirmed that the victim, who was said to be vulnerable and known to social workers, had not been cooking at the time.

It is believed that he may have started the blaze himself.

Divisional fire officer Andy Tonks said: "The actual damage was very minor and while there was not much of a fire to put out there was a lot of smoke."

The tragedy happened in Tamarisk Close shortly after 12.15pm yesterday when neighbours spotted smoke billowing from the ground-floor council flat.

Fire crews from Bognor and Chichester broke in and are thought to have found the man, who has not been named, sitting in a chair inside the smoke-filled kitchen.

Shocked neighbour Sonia Taylor said she knew the dead man as Ronnie. "He was a very nice man who had lost his wife a few years ago and he started going downhill after that.

"Social services were coming in to give him a hand and help tidy the flat and I think he was a bit depressed."

Mrs Taylor said Ronnie had told her that he had once worked in coal mines in the north of England and had a son and a daughter.

Gez Ifould, chairman of the estate's residents' association, said: "It is very sad. The gentleman had lived alone since his wife died several years ago and I don't think he had been well.

"He kept himself to himself but was not disliked and all the kids on the estate loved him because he was a bit of a character and used to hand out sweets."

Mrs Ifould has been leading a high-profile campaign to tidy up the estate which used to be known locally as Legoland.

Her efforts have led to neighbourhood watch schemes and abandoned cars being cleared away.

She said: "Something like this is dreadful for the estate. I was at work at the time but a colleague from our group was able to keep me informed."

Detective Inspector Neil Fellingham, of Bognor police, said they were not treating the fire as suspicious at this stage.

He said: "A post-mortem examination will be carried out tomorrow and after that we will have a clearer picture."