A WOMAN'S body was found in a house in Cwmbran early today after a fire swept through the property.

Emergency services were called at 3.12am after witnesses saw flames coming from the downstairs of the house on Porth Mawr Road, Northville.

Police are now trying to confirm who the dead woman is - the officer in charge says it is believed she may be the occupier of the house - while fire investigators are probing the cause of the blaze.

Detective Inspector John Williams, who is in charge of the police inquiry, said: "On arrival, the fire service extinguished a fire and found the body of an adult female.

"No further details are to be released until her next of kin are informed. "She was the sole occupier of the property as far as we know. "The fire service was alerted by neighbours."

DI Williams, based in Pontypool, said house-to-house inquires are to be carried out.

Officers say they are treating the blaze as suspicious until they can prove otherwise.

Today, windows of the two-storey detached property were broken and blackened. The interior was gutted.

A gutter had melted and was dangling to the ground. Bystanders could smell smoke 20 yards away from the property. Police believe the occupier of the house is a woman in her thirties. Terry Gibbons, of Williams Street, saw the fire.

He said: "There were flames coming out of the front window. "We could hear someone shouting but not what they said." He said his wife rang the fire service.

Two appliances from Cwmbran attended the scene and put out the blaze, making the gruesome discovery of the woman's badly burned body. Fire investigators and forensic scientists were at the scene during the morning.

A spokeswoman for South Wales Fire Service said the fire appeared to have started in the living room of the property. Anyone who may have information about the incident is asked to contact Cwmbran CID on 01633 838111.