A Chessington pensioner died after the methylated spirit her husband was using to cook fish caught light and started a fire that destroyed their house.

Dorothy Whiteway, 90, died in the fire at her home in Moor Lane in July, as 35 firefighters battled to put out the flames.

At an inquest on Wednesday, October 22, West London Coroner’s Court heard the blaze started when Mrs Whiteway’s husband Roy was smoking mackerel in the conservatory using methylated spirit.

A fire investigation report said the spirit would have caused a “flash” and investigators believed Mr Whiteway fell, causing spirit to spray around the conservatory.

The blaze developed around Mr Whiteway “very quickly”, the report added.

Police Constable Ben Draper-Edwards told the court he thought he could see a person sitting in a chair through the fire and smoke, but was not sure due to the intensity of the flames.

In a statement, he said: “Roy Whiteway appeared very confused and dazed.

“I said to him ‘Is there anyone else inside?’ and he said, ‘Yes, my wife Dorothy. She will be all right won’t she?’”

PC Draper-Edwards added Mr Whiteway told him he was smoking mackerel with methylated spirit when it caught light.

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The fire gutted the Whiteway's home

Next door neighbour Alan Rendall, who pulled Mr Whiteway from the fire, said in a statement: “I went in the garden and saw Roy [Dorothy’s husband] on the floor in the conservatory.

“I crawled in and managed to get him out and away from the fire and I called the fire brigade.”

He added: “I knew [Mrs Whiteway] was wheelchair-bound and could not have got out the house by herself.”

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Alan Rendall pulled Mr Whiteway from the fire

A postmortem examination found Mrs Whiteway died due to smoke inhalation and burns.

Delivering his conclusion, Mr Inyama said: “Dorothy Whiteway died as a result of an accident”.

In a statement read out in court, son Steve Whiteway, the managing director of Epsom Coaches, said: “She was always very grateful for those who helped her in any way.

“She was a kind, compassionate and wonderful lady and a loving wife to Roy through 63 years of marriage.

“She will be sorely missed by all and never forgotten.”

After the inquest, Mr Whiteway told the Comet: “Dad was blaming himself initially.

“What he was doing would have been quite safe, but because he isn’t very steady he fell over and it accelerated the fire. “He opened the door to get out and get the hose reel and oxygen got hold of the fire and that’s what made it so bad.

“But he didn’t do it on purpose.

“It’s a tragic accident and it’s just one of those things you can look back at and say ‘Could you change anything?’.”

Roy Whiteway was well enough to attend his wife’s funeral in September and now lives in a care home in Epsom.

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Steve Whiteway and (below) Roy Whiteway at Dorothy Whiteway's funeral in September

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