A cigarette not properly put out caused a fire which killed a pensioner, police confirm.

The body of Noreen O’Brien, 76, was found in her home in Hove Avenue, Walthamstow, last Tuesday after a fire engulfed the house.

Police arrested a man after the London Fire Brigade found the woman’s corpse at about 5.55am but he was released with no further action following a post-mortem later that day.

Instead her death was deemed non-suspicious, said police today, after an investigation discovered the “careless disposal” of a cigarette had caused the fire.

People living in Hove Avenue said they did not know the woman but thought she lived alone.

Gerry Sanderson, 51, said: “It’s obviously tragic. It’s very sad. Someone had been arrested and we woke up to a big line of police officers stopping us using the road.

“They obviously thought something criminal had occurred but if it’s non-suspicious now then I suppose not.”

Tom Yates, 34, added: “We were shocked to wake up to that. I don’t know the woman but it is a sorry thing to have happened.”