FIREFIGHTERS alerted by worried neighbours smashed their way into the home of an elderly woman to find her already dead.

Friends of Kathleen Jennings raised the alarm after she failed to answer the door at her house in Collinsfield, at about 9am last Saturday.

Evesham firefighters smashed a window to gain entry to Mrs Jennings' house, but paramedics from Hereford and Worcester Ambulance Service pronounced her dead. She was 83.

A post mortem at Worcestershire Royal Hospital on Monday confirmed that Mrs Jennings, a former teacher at Swan Lane First School, Evesham, had died of natural causes. It is believed she had died just hours before she was found.

Collinsfield residents have now paid tribute to Mrs Jennings, who they described as "an excellent neighbour."

Neighbour Henry White, who had known her for 62 years and who raised the alarm, said: "We had morning coffee and afternoon tea together every day.

"She was a very close and dear friend and I've been pleased to keep her company in her widowhood. I shall miss her a great deal and so will a lot of other people."

Another neighbour, Donald Berry, had known Mrs Jennings when they were at school together in Evesham.

He said: "I had known her for a long time and I first met her at Prince Henry's Grammar School when I was about 11 or 12. She was a few years older than me, but we were quite good friends.

"She used to be a very sporty lady and was once the ladies captain and a life member at Broadway Golf Club. She also held the high jump record at Prince Henry's for a number of years, which had only been beaten recently.

"She was a very friendly neighbour but she had been having health problems for the last few years."

Collinsfield resident Christine Grove said: "She was very pleasant and polite and always took an interest in my children and what they were doing and what their next move was.

"We had known her since we moved here and she would always say hello or gave us a wave.

"She was an excellent neighbour and will be sadly missed. You couldn't have wished for a kinder person."

The funeral will take place at Cheltenham Crematorium on Wednesday at 2pm.