An inquest heard that 72-year-old Barbara Hardwick, a resident at Baird Lodge sheltered accommodation, had been sitting in a chair when she was engulfed by flames, which were started when she reached into the pocket of her cotton trousers.

Staff rushed to her aid when the fire alarm went off and found her at the side of her bed with her back and legs on fire and her lounge ablaze.

In a statement to the inquest in Ely, personal support worker Sharon Evans said that at around 7.30pm on September 4 last year, she and her colleague, Jean Burkett, had rushed to Mrs Hardwick's room.

"The whole of the living room was full of thick smoke," she said.

Her statement went on to describe how the two women covered Mrs Hardwick with wet towels in a bid to extinguish the flames. "Barbara was talking and was surprisingly calm," said Mrs Evans.

She said she and Mrs Burkett had been forced to leave Mrs Hardwick as her room was engulfed by thick smoke.

Firefighters got Mrs Hardwick out and she was taken to Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge. She was later transferred to a specialist burns unit in Chelmsford where she died a day later.

Fire officer Bruce Parcell, who investigated the incident, told the inquest the most obvious cause of the fire was that Mrs Hardwick had reached into her pocket and accidentally triggered a cigarette lighter.

He said shreds of Mrs Hardwick's burned clothing had been found spread across the floor, an indication that she had tried to crawl out of the burning room.

A post-mortem examination revealed that Mrs Hardwick, who had suffered from a number of illnesses, including heart problems and diabetes, as well as a series of strokes, had died as a result of smoke inhalation and extensive burns.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, north and east Cambridgeshire coroner Dr David Osborne said he wished to extend his condolences to Mrs Hardwick's family.