Police investigate link between two house fires in Bilston afer a man died - and continue separate blaze probe in Wednesbury

West Midlands Police and fire service investigators have been carrying out door-to-door inquiries after separate blazes wrecked properties in Bilston and Wednesbury.

Forensic teams were at work speaking to stunned residents on Sunday in Marbury Drive and Lunt Place in The Lunt in Bilston after two house were on fire within yards of each other shortly after 2am on Saturday. The deceased and injured victims are believed to be from the same family.

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A man, aged in his 70s, died following an incident at the gutted Marbury Drive address while four people who were at the the Lunt Place address were taken to hospital with injuries which are not thought to be life threatening.

West Midlands Police said: "We are treating the fires as connected and are investigating both of them."

A Marbury Drive resident, who did not want to be named said: "It's very sad for the community. I have mixed emotions today. I know the family involved to say 'hello' to. I used to see the gentleman who passed away everyday. I didn't know his name, but we exchanged 'hellos'. Every morning he used to go for  walk across the fields over the back.

"He spoke Chinese and not much English so we didn't have conversations. He was a quiet man and his wife died a few years ago. The people from the other house in Lunt Place are doing okay. 

"It's been a bit of a shock for people round here as we knew them."

Investigators and the technical support team based at Bickenhiil remain at the Bilston scene.

Fire and police officers were also at work after a severe blaze at a house in Holyhead Road in Wednesbury off the Patent Shaft Roundabout on Sunday were four people were believed to have been led to safety after a fire broke out shortly after 3am. Neighbours there dialled 999 after hearing a loud bang on Sunday morning..

The wrecked two-storey house is situated in the middle of a terrace known as the Monway Buildings.It is a scene of devastation with blackened walls and a fire damaged front doorway and first floor window is visible from the street. 

Two men and a woman believed to have sustained burns were taken to Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital.  Another man is thought to have been taken to Walsall Manor Hospital suffering the effects of smoke inhalation.

A relative at the scene told the Express & Star: "There were four of them inside the house. They've all been taken to hospital."

"One of the family phoned us to say there's been a bad fire. I've come round to see what's happened, but the investigators are still here checking things.

"It has come as a shock especially when you get a phone call at 6.55 in the morning. Straightaway you know there's something wrong. 

"We don't know what's caused it. The investigation is still going on," the man, who did not want to be named, added.

West Midlands Police said: "We were called following a fire at an address on Holyhead Road, Wednesbury at around 3.15am this morning. A man and a woman in their 80s and a - man in his 50s have been taken to hospital with potentially life-threatening injuries.

"We are working alongside fire service investigators to establish the cause of the blaze."

Meanwhile on Saturday afternoon firefighters doused a waste blaze in Oak Lane in Kingswinford at around 5.30.