A HOUSE fire in a North Yorkshire village has killed one person.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service were called to the blaze at just after 11pm on Sunday.

A spokesman said three crews were sent to a residential address in the village of Marton, near Pickering, and tackled the fire until 3am today.

The spokesman confirmed one body had been found at the converted property, to the rear of Potters Lodge, and investigations had continued throughout Monday.

One neighbour, who asked not to be named, said that they heard shouting, and went out to see billowing smoke.

Describing the scene, they said: "Within minutes there were flames everywhere. It was unbelievable, very intense.

"How the house didn't go up I don't know," they added, referring to the adjacent Potters Lodge building.

"We are all in shock today. It's horrible. The intensity of the heat, and the speed of it."

Another neighbour said that part of the building was used as a garage, with assorted tools in it. "There was a nail gun that runs off gas canisters. They were going off and exploding," they said. 

He said no cause had yet been determined, and fire investigators were working with North Yorkshire Police and the regional scientific support services at the scene.

A spokeswoman for North Yorkshire Police said the force was contacted at 11.30pm by the fire service, and the Yorkshire Ambulance Service also attended.

She said: "Sadly, a body was found inside the property at around twenty past midnight.

"There are not believed to be any suspicious circumstances surrounding the incident. We are not in a position to release the identity of the deceased."