The daughter of an 87-year-old grandmother who died in a fire in Hinchley Wood has paid tribute to her mother.

Ann Fox, 53, a teacher at Hinchley Wood Primary School, described her mother Irene Cockerton as a real character with a wicked sense of humour.

She enjoyed needlework and always did the Daily Mail crossword to keep her mind active.

She said: "She was very family orientated and loved being with her family.

"She would come to ours for lunch every Sunday, which she loved.

"She was very tough and resilient; she took whatever life threw at her."

Mrs Cockerton moved to her flat in Gibson Court from Bognor Regis five years ago, after the death of her treasured husband Bill left her wanting to be closer to her family.

She quickly settled in and could often be seen exercising in the corridors, or lunching with her daughter who would visit during her school’s lunch breaks.

Mrs Fox said: "She was very happy there. It’s like they have their own little family and everyone looks after each other."

The fire on Friday, September 30, started two flats down from Mrs Cockerton, on the first floor of Gibson Court, in Manor Road North, and all of her belongings were destroyed.

Mrs Fox said she hoped her father’s ashes, which were kept under a dressing table in the flat, would be retrievable.

She said: "It’s a comfort to know that they went together. She was very private in her own little way, and made of stern stuff, but she missed him."

The pair met through a cycling club and would often go for bike rides together, when they were not spending time on their other love - sequence dancing.

They also worked at the same canning company, Metal Box, where Mrs Cockerton worked as a secretary.

Before retiring from there, Mrs Cockerton lived in West Ewell for about 20 years.

It was there she spent some time working as a lunchtime supervisor at what is now Epsom and Ewell High School.

Mrs Cockerton leaves behind her daughter Ann, son-in-law Martin, and her three adored grandchildren Sarah, Jamie and Rick.

Mrs Fox has offered her thanks and appreciation to the emergency services and everybody else who helped during and after the fire.

She said: "Everybody was so fantastic, we can't thank them enough for what they did that night.

"Everybody raiiled around and I really appreciate it."

Irene Cockerton's only daughter described the agonising wait to hear the news her mother's body had been found after a fire ripped through her warden-assisted accommodaiton.

Ann Fox received a call at about 12.50am to say there had been a fire at Gibson Court, Hinchley Wood, and that her mother was missing.

The family, who live minutes away, headed straight to the scene, where firefighters were working tirelessly to battle the flames.

She said: "It was like being on a cloud, or in a bubble, and you just hope the bubble's not going to burst.

"At first we had hope, but we didn't realise how bad the fire was. It wasn't until we saw the flames - they were twice the height of the building - and I said to my husband 'she's not going to get out of this'.

"She's tough, but we knew what the outcome was.

"We still had that bit of hope though, and even now I keep thinking she's going to give us a ring like she did every day."

The family stayed there until 5.30am, but went home when emergency services told they could not enter Mrs Cockerton's flat.

Her body was found at 12.45pm the next day.