Couple in fatal Barrow house fire are named

An elderly woman killed in a fierce house blaze at Barrow has been named as 84-year-old Mrs Nellie Shaw.
The scene of the fatal house fire on Whalley Road in Barrow.The scene of the fatal house fire on Whalley Road in Barrow.
The scene of the fatal house fire on Whalley Road in Barrow.

Her husband, Philip, also in his 80s, escaped the burning property and was treated for the effects of inhaling smoke.

Emergency crews were called to Barrow Gardens Farm, in Whalley Road – opposite the entrance to Clitheroe Golf Club – around 5-20 am on Tuesday. When firefighters arrived the two-storey detached farmhouse was well alight, but it is understood Mr Shaw was outside being cared for by a passer-by.

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Fire crews from Clitheroe, Hyndburn, Padiham and Great Harwood attended the scene and took almost three hours to control and fully extinguish the fire, which left the property gutted and with holes in the roof and threatened to engulf an adjoining barn.

Specialist search teams then faced the grim task of going through the still smouldering building, aware that Mrs Shaw was unaccounted for. At 11-30 am police announced her body had been recovered from the burnt out property.

Neighbours yesterday spoke of their shock and sadness at the tragedy, sayng that while the elderly couple “kept themselves to themselves”, they were well liked and respected in the area. It is understood they have grown-up children living abroad.

Investigations into the cause of the fire are ongoing.

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