A man has burnt to death when a Surrey house that was used as a cannabis factory turned into a "horrendous inferno".

The massive fire happened just after 9pm on Friday at the house in Van Dyck Avenue, New Malden, and gutted the 1930s chalet-style, three-bedroom property.

The intense heat prevented the 20 firefighters from getting inside the house until it was too late to save the man. He died later in Kingston Hospital with burns to 100 per cent of his body.

Police said three women of oriental appearance and two children were seen running from the house. They have identified the victim but will not release details until his next of kin have been informed.

An oriental man was also seen leaving the house at about the same time.

Shaken neighbours, who did not want to give their names, said they called the fire brigade after their young son ran downstairs screaming that there was a fire.

Within minutes the house next door to their's was engulfed in flames. One of these neighbours said: "It was just incomprehensible. There were flames coming out of every part and it was just a ball of flame. It wasn't a fire, it was an inferno."

Her husband went out to the burning house looking for anyone trapped. He said: "As I arrived a woman came out with a charred face covering herself with a duvet. She was saying something that sounded like child'. I thought there was a child stuck in there. I was just a blank. I thought I had to get in and get them."

Neighbour tried to rescue victims

As his wife, son and nine-year-old daughter panicked, he took a fire extinguisher and went around the house looking for a way in, helped by another man who had arrived.

He said: "The heat was just so strong. As I went round the back, a side window blew out with this yellow gas and I ended up on the ground."

When he recovered, he aimed the fire extinguisher at doors and windows, the fire was too strong for it to have any effect. He said: "I could hear these voices on the inside above me, and there was just nothing I could do."

His wife said: "My daughter was just screaming, telling him not to go in there, and scared the fire would spread. She is still very upset. It has totally shocked everyone in the family. I can't eat or sleep."

Four fire engines attended the fire and it was under control by 10.25pm. New Malden fire station manager Neil Sinclair said firefighters had done well to stop the blaze from spreading, and warned people never to attempt to enter burning buildings.

A Met police spokeswoman said police found a large amount of evidence to suggest that cannibis was being grown at the house.

This is the third cannibis factory found in New Malden in recent months. On December 20 last year, more than 100 plants were found in a house in Malden Road and on January 1 more than 300 plants were found in Montem Road. Police chiefs said the operatives behind several cannabis factories in New Malden and Surbiton raided by police over the past year have been Vietnamese.

Anyone with information regarding the fire should contact the incident room on 020 8721 4005 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.