A pensioner who suffered horrendous burns after a blaze at her flat has died.

Gwen Thresh is thought to have fallen unconscious on a sofa after a drinking session and did not move as the blaze engulfed her sheltered accommodation flat on Wednesday night. It is understood a discarded cigarette started the fire.

Firefighters - who did not discover her until after the blaze was out - described the scene as one of the most harrowing they have had to deal with.

Mrs Thresh, who lived at Milward Court in Wilmot Road, Shoreham, spent just over 24 hours at the critical burns unit at Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead, but died in the early hours of Friday morning.

Adur Deputy District Commander Mark Osbourne said officers were shocked to find she was still alive when they shone a light in her eyes.

Mr Osbourne said: "My officers were confronted with one of the worst scenes a firefighter could ever see."

Firefighters last night claimed Mrs Thresh could have been reached more quickly had Shoreham Fire Station been staffed by a full-time crew throughout the night.

Full-time staff used to provide 24-hour cover at the station but in January a new regime was introduced in which night-time cover was provided by retained firefighters, who do not stay on-site.

But Mr Osbourne told The Argus: "The fact is if we were a full-time station we may have got to the scene 30 seconds quicker but there is no way it would have saved that woman.

"The morale at our station and the skill of the officers is second to none and there are going to be very exciting changes here in the next few months and that is only possible because of the system we are working under."

Staff at Queen Victoria Hospital had said Mrs Thresh was in a critical condition on Thursday night but confirmed she died at about 2am yesterday.

Gary Towson, spokesman for West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service, said: "This woman had horrific burns and it looked like she hadn't moved at all when the fire broke out.

"We don't know whether she had suffered a heart attack or a stroke or had simply been asleep.

"Her two daughters came down from Yorkshire and visited the scene. Obviously they found it very upsetting and tried to salvage as many of their mother's posessions as they could.

"We have been making calls to people in the area to let them know there has been a serious fire and to offer them free safety checks. We have also set up a service in Wilmot Road as a focal point where people can come and receive fire safety information by watching videos and looking at leaflets.