A man who died after a blaze in a high-rise flat in the early hours of November 30 was not the only victim, it has been revealed. A dog also perished in the fire, which took firefighters more than an hour to deal with.

Firefighters attended the deadly inferno in a third-floor Penhill flat in Wauluds Bank Drive, Luton, shortly before 4am, to find a man in the smoke-filled lounge.

Crews dragged the man from the blaze and took him to the second floor of the block, which was the nearest smoke free area. He was given first aid until paramedics arrived, and taken to Luton & Dunstable Hospital, where he later died.

It is thought the man, who has not yet been formally identified, had lived in the flat for a couple of months with a young woman and her son, who is thought to be aged four, as well as the pet dog. One neighbour said the dog, whose breed is unknown, could be heard howling before the emergency services were called to the fire.

Residents at the Marsh Farm flats called 999 after smelling smoke. The home had a smoke alarm, but nobody heard it sounding during the fire.

Scenes of crime officers and a fire investigation team were taking evidence from the scene on Monday. The cause of the blaze is yet unknown, but neighbours were told by police that it was suspicious.