THE body of a man was pulled from a chalet gutted by fire yesterday morning.

Fire crews raced to the scene at Narroway Lane in Crossway Green, at about 7.45am where they found the body.

It had not been identified at the time of the Shuttle/Times and News going to press.

The alarm was raised by a nearby vegetable picker using a mobile phone and police were at the chalet, named Highfields, five minutes after firefighters arrived.

Fire brigade spokesman Alec Mackie said: "Fire crews went in using breathing apparatus and hose reel jets and carried out a search and found the man who was pronounced dead by paramedics. The bungalow was mostly destroyed."

Scenes-of-crime and fire investigation officers were called to the blaze which was attended by two fire engines, a bulk water carrier and an off-road fire vehicle.

Owner of the Shorthill Caravan and Camping Centre adjacent to the bungalow, Peter George, said the chalet belonged to pensioner Harry Fields.

He said Mr Fields was in his 80s, lived on his own and was a "recluse".

He said: "I have known him for the 34 years I have been here and he certainly lived in the chalet before then. I would say he had been here all of his life.

"The house was full of rubbish and he had burnt his leg putting paraffin on a fire a few years back."

A police spokesman said: "An investigation has been launched into the circumstances surrounding the death. Police officers are keeping an open mind about how the man died."