A GREAT grandmother from Pontllanfraith died after an extension lead caught fire and spread to a polyester blanket at her home, an inquest heard yesterday.

Iris Novello Johnson, who was 98, died after the fire in the house on Commercial Street on May 13.

She was taken by ambulance to the Royal Gwent Hospital after being rescued from the fire, where she later died.

After the blaze broke out, the Argus reported how shopkeepers described their disbelief after they saw firefighters smash through the front door, releasing clouds of smoke.

The manager of the nearby Texaco petrol station, Elizabeth Matthews, spoke of her shock after seeing what happened, while Mrs Johnson’s neighbour Dave Morgan lived opposite her for over 30 years. He said she kept herself to herself and that son Malcolm visited at least twice a day.

Mrs Johnson's son said his parents lived in Hengoed before moving to Pontllanfraith in the 1970s, where they organised tea dances at the Llanarth Road working men's club.

"She was a very private person who had been living independently for the last 18 years," he told the Argus in May.

A post-mortem examination found Mrs Johnson died from asphyxiation and smoke inhalation caused by the fire and that she also suffered with ischemic heart disease.

Gwent area coroner Wendy James recorded a verdict of accidental death.

The fire in her home, which was next to The Plough pub on the corner of Penmaen Road and Commercial Street, was discovered after a passer-by saw flames and called the emergency services at about 2pm on the day the fire broke out. A fire crew from Aberbargoed and another two from Caerphilly left her home at 3.06pm.