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Mystery as OAP dies after being found on fire in London street

John Nolan (PA)
John Nolan (PA)

Police are appealing for information following the tragic death of a pensioner who was found on fire in a London street.

Emergency services were called to Orchard Place in Tottenham, north London, at 1pm on Sunday September 17, to reports of a man on fire.

Members of the public had tried to help retired construction worker John Nolan, 70, before fire fighters managed to put out the blaze; Mr Nolan was flown to Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford, Essex, by air ambulance, but later died.

The pensioner, who was originally from County Mayo in Ireland, but lived in Tottenham, suffered third-degree burns to 65 per cent of his body.

Orchard Place, Tottenham, where the tragedy occurred (Google Street View)
Orchard Place, Tottenham, where the tragedy occurred (Google Street View)

A post-mortem examination in September gave cause of death as severe burns and an inquest is due to take place in March next year.

Specialist investigators from London Fire Brigade have tried to establish the cause of the blaze but say no accelerant was found – meaning he wasn’t doused in petrol.

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Detectives from Haringey CID are continuing to investigate to establish the circumstances of the fire, but no arrests have been made and the death is currently being treated as unexplained.

PC Damien Ait-Amer, said: “We have spoken with a number of witnesses who saw Mr Nolan ablaze, but we have yet to establish how the fire started.

“Mr Nolan was a well-liked member of the community and none of our enquiries so far have indicated that he had been involved in a dispute of any sort.

“Nor does any account given by witnesses suggest that he had been in contact with another person at the time of the fire.”