The woman who died in a flat fire has been named locally as Zoe Evans.

The fire, in the early hours of Tuesday morning, took place in a second floor flat in Beauclere House on the corner of Brighton Road and Cavendish Road, Sutton.

From Tuesday: Woman found dead following flat fire

Firefighters, who were called to the scene just after 3am and had the fire under control by 4.16am, found her body in the bedroom.

Mrs Evans, who is believed to have been in her 80's, lived in the six storey block for nearly 30 years.

Irene Arnold's 94-year-old mother lived on the same floor, until recently.

Mrs Arnold said: "They knew each other for years. Zoe was a great companion, she would make a point of going to see my mother who was that much older and frailer.

"She has a daughter but no grandchildren and was an only child herself so I think she quite liked to hear about our family - she knew the names of all my mother's grandchildren. It is such a tragic end to a lovely woman."

Mrs Arnold said Mrs Evans was a widow and had a daughter Caroline.

She added: "All who knew Zoe will be greatly saddened and shaken by this tragic and untimely end to her life."

Police are investigating the death and at this stage are treating it as unexplained.

Did you know Zoe Evans? Contact Nick Hitchens at nhitchens@london.newsquest.co.uk or call 020 8722 6334