Neighbour who tried desperately to save woman speaks of 'guilt'

Published on Saturday 30 May 2009 11:18

A YOUNG man has told how he tried in vain to save a woman from a ferocious house fire but was beaten back by heat and flames.

James Connor, 21, said he was wracked with guilt after failing to save 46-year-old Ann Forrest from the blaze in Fauldhouse.

Enquiries are continuing into the fire but it is understood Ms Forrest was house-sitting the cottage as the owners had still to move in after recently decorating. Witnesses said they saw the victim just half an hour before on the street, describing her as "emotional and lost".

Mr Connor was watching TV as flames ripped through the next-door cottage in Main Street at about 12:40am yesterday.

He said: "I heard banging on the walls and the sound of things smashing,

so I ran out to see what was happening and there was a guy out there trying to kick in the windows and the door.

"The two of us tried to get in but the heat was too much and a window exploded at my head. Everything happened really fast and then the police and fire crews arrived.

"I feel really guilty after hearing that there was a woman. I'd never heard anyone in there before and I was really shocked when I was told. You don't expect anything like this to happen."

Fauldhouse Masonic lodge barmaid Audrey Conner, 44, described seeing Ms Forrest on Thursday night, saying she was still haunted by the death of her sister Elizabeth on Christmas Day in 2002, aged 41.

She said: "I was locking up the pub at ten past midnight when I saw a woman sitting on the pavement right outside, so I asked if she was OK. She was sober but very upset, saying she had just been at her sister's grave in Whitburn. I offered to phone for a taxi for her but she said, 'I've nowhere to go, nobody loves me'.

"I couldn't just leave her there so phoned police, who came ten minutes later but Ann had disappeared.

"Next thing I know there's been a huge fire literally around the corner, and she was dead. It's absolutely tragic. She gave me a hug and cried on my shoulder, but wouldn't let me take her home."

In a tragic coincidence, Mrs Conner was also the last person to see Matthew Carty – a 43-year-old Fauldhouse father who was found dead in woods in January.

Three fire crews, from Whitburn, Bathgate and Shotts, attended yesterday's incident. It took six firefighters an hour and 15 minutes to get the blaze under control. Neighbours living on either side of the cottage were quickly evacuated upon arrival. Only smoke damage affected neighbouring properties.

A nearby resident added: "It was an inferno and was gutted within minutes. I wasn't even aware there was anyone in the house."

Police and fire investigators are trying to determine the circumstances surrounding the fire and are appealing for anyone with information to come forward.

A police spokesman said: "Enquiries are at a very early stage and we do not yet have the full details as to how this fire started.

"Anyone who was in the area at the time and can provide us with information that can assist us should contact police."