A teenager fought in vain to save his grandmother from a fire that devastated her home.

Vilma Hamper died after the blaze, caused by either a discarded cigarette or an electrical fault, ripped through the property in Eastbourne.

Today an inquest was told how her 16-year-old grandson was beaten back by the flames as he tried to rescue her.

The boy, who coroner Alan Craze banned The Argus from naming, said: "I heard my nan shouting and woke up, and realised the smoke alarm was going off.

"I opened my bedroom door and could hear her in the next bedroom, but there was smoke everywhere and then flames started shooting up the stairs. I couldn't get to her."

He jumped from the first floor bedroom window into the street and ran to neighbours to raise the alarm.

The inquest was told how firefighters later found Mrs Hamper, 56, dead in her home in Pembury Road, Langney, Eastbourne, on April 18 last year.

A 20-year-old man from Eastbourne was arrested by police on suspicion of murder following the blaze but was later released without charge.

John Hamper, 60, who was partially sighted and disabled, managed to crawl out of the back door during the blaze and was pulled to safety by neighbours.

Mrs Hamper was John Hamper's carer and sister-in-law. He has since died.

The inquest was told that in an interview with police, John Hamper said he had seen the fire start inside the front door of the house.

Detectives from Sussex Police's Major Crime Branch launched an inquiry but dropped the investigation after fire experts said the seat of the blaze began under the stairs.

Sarah Griffith, a forensic fire scientist, told the inquest she believed the blaze had started under the stairs behind a freezer.

She said the evidence suggested it was sparked through an electrical fault or a discarded cigarette, and could have been smouldering for hours before the flames took hold.

The house was so badly damaged that no exact cause could be established.

The stairs were completely burned away, the plasterboard ceiling had collapsed and the timber roof frames were badly charred.

Mrs Hamper was found by firefighters on her bed. She had died of smoke inhalation after being overcome by fumes from the fire.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, Mr Craze said: "The evidence we have heard all points to the seat of the fire not being near the front door, but being under the stairs. It is most unlikely that any other third party was involved in any way."

Mrs Hamper had lived in Eastbourne most of her life, and in Pembury Road for more than 30 years.

She was well known and liked in the local community. The inquest heard how she was highly organised and collected porcelain dolls, thimbles and teddy bears.

Speaking after the hearing, her grandson David May, 20, said: "She was just the kindest person I knew.

"She would do anything for anyone and devoted her life to looking after John and everyone else. We miss her every day."