Chairbound Frieda Benson phoned the fire service and told them she was on fire and burning, but firefighters were unable to arrive in time to save her from the horrific blaze.

They found the 74-year-old's body badly burned, slumped in her smoke-logged flat clutching lighters and packets of cigarettes, with a melted phone nearby.

Mrs Benson, who lived alone in sheltered accommodation at 7 Wade Wright Court, Downham, was suffering from bone cancer and could not walk or help herself.

She phoned the fire service from her chair at 6.30am on February 16 after accidently setting herself alight.

It took less than ten minutes for firefighters to arrive. Greater Norfolk coroner William Armstrong told Friday's inquest that Mrs Benson, a retired private secretary, had died as a result of her burns.

"This fire came about as a result of a lit cigarette dropping either onto the night clothes, tissues or bedding.

"That was the cause of the fire and that is what led to her sad death," he said.

A Norfolk Fire Service fire investigation report said Mrs Benson, who was on medication for her cancer, was prone to falling asleep in her reclining chair, day and night. At the time of the fire, she had mounds of tissues and a blanket on her lap and a bottle of brandy with a loosened lid nearby.

The inquest, at Lynn County Court, heard the 999 call lasted some time and around one-and-a-half minutes into the call, the fire alarm could be heard in the background.

Mrs Benson was found with burns to the right-hand side of her body from her legs to her head and her telephone, off the hook, had melted into the debris around her.

Detective Constable Patricia Hooper, who attended the flat later that morning, said there were packets of cigarettes and some disposable lighters clasped in Mrs Benson's hands.

There were no suspicious circumstances and Mrs Benson had no injuries, except for her burns. Her niece, Julie Grint, said her aunt moved to Downham after she was widowed around four of five years ago.

She had been diagnosed with terminal bone cancer and confined to a wheelchair for the last six to nine months, the inquest heard.

Mrs Grint said the cancer had become progressively worse and although regular blood transfusions had "seemed to boost her up" she was getting tired more easily.

She and her brother had taken Mrs Benson out for lunch the previous Monday and she had seemed her usual, cheerful self, although she had grown tired.

Mrs Benson received four visits from carers during the day, including one early in the morning, and she kept in regular contact with family members.

Mr Armstrong recorded a verdict of accidental death.