An elderly woman has perished in a house fire in the early hours of this morning.

The victim is 81 year old  Inez Mabel Fields of Newbury, St.George.

A statement from the police force says that at about 2 20 am officers from Boarded Hall Station responded to Newbury, St. George after receiving a report that a house was on fire.

The police patrol unit arrived at the scene about 2 30 am and discovered that the house was fully engulfed in flames.

Two fire tenders one from Bridgetown the other from Four Roads, St. John with 8 personnel under the command of Divisional Officer Vaughn responded and extinguished the blaze.

The house was a wooden structure with 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom.

The deceased victim was later formally identified by her only son who was at the scene.

The police say the house had electricity but the victim was reportedly in the habit of using a kerosene oil lamp. Her body was discovered in an area identified as the bedroom doorway.