A HOUSE fire that resulted in a man’s death has been ruled as accidental by the fire service.

Fire crews rushed to Archers Road in Eastleigh on Friday, May 6 after plumes of smoke were seen billowing from a property in the early hours.

The blaze was soon put out but the resident of the house sadly died.

READ MORE: Residents devastated as man's body found after Eastleigh house fire

Nearly four weeks on from the tragedy the fire service has said the cause of the fire is believed to be an accidental ignition from either a lit cigarette or an unattended tea light.

The man’s family has been informed and a file will be prepared for the coroner.

The next-door neighbour of the affected house, who did not want to be named, said he was alerted when he was suddenly told by another neighbour to get out of his home.

Speaking two days after the incident, he said: "We were told by the neighbour on the other side to get out of the house.

"By the time I got to the top of the stairs, there was smoke in our house.

"Smoke was billowing out of next door. We couldn’t get back in the house for ages and there was no damage to our property.

"But that is irrelevant when someone has lost their life."

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