Pensioner dies in care home fire

A pensioner has died after a fire at a residential care home, thought to have been caused by an exploding oxygen cylinder, the local authority has said.

Emergency services were called to reports of a blaze at Woodlands View care home in Stevenage at about 4:30pm on Saturday.

Hertfordshire County Council confirmed a man in his 80s had died and that seven people had been taken to hospital.

A spokeswoman for the authority said an investigation into the blaze was ongoing.