Detctives were today investigating two houses fires just streets apart that left a man in his 70s dead and four other people in hospital.

Fire fighters battled two house fires which broke out within minutes of each other in the early hours on Saturday (10/05).

They were first called to a property in Lunt Place, Bilston, Wolverhampton at 2:19am.

Fire ripped through a third of the ground floor of the two-storey, semi-detached house in Lunt Place and the entire property was affected by smoke.

Four people were taken to hospital and their injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.

Just minutes later, West Midlands Fire Service received a second call at 2:30am alerting them to a second fire on nearby Marbury Drive where a man believed to be in his 70s was found dead.

The second house on Marbury Drive was almost entirely affected by the blaze.

West Midlands Police have confirmed they are "treating the fires as connected and are investigating both of them."

Footage from the scene shows the extent of the damage to both properties - with the majority of the roof belonging to the Marbury Drive house destroyed by the fire.

Neighbours on Marbury Drive were "shocked" at the double fire in their neighbourhood."

One resident, who didn't want to be named, said he had been sleeping at home when he heard the sounds of shouting and screaming and then saw what was happening.

He said: "I was woken up by shouting and screaming on a nearby road, so I looked outside and saw the smoke, so I called the fire brigade and told them what was going on."

"I've only found out what happened this morning and I'm really shocked about it as it's not something you want to see near your home."

Another resident had been out on a walk when he heard about what happened.

He said: "I'm just shocked at what I've seen."

"It's just a scene of total devastation and really horrible to see."

"I agree with a lot of people that it's not what you expect to see happening so close to your home and it's just shaken me a bit."

Around the corner on Lunt Road, residents were also taking in the scale of the fire on their road, which hadn't caused as much damage as the fire on Marbury Drive, but had left windows and the interior burnt and blackened.

One resident said: "I was asleep, but heard the sound of the fire engine and looked out of my window and saw smoke."

"I didn't come down as I live on my own, but I came out this morning and saw the windows all burnt out, then the police came to speak to me about the fire and whether I knew the people in the house."

"I'm just in a bit of shock because of the fire happening."

A cordon remains in place as fire and police crews investigate.

A West Midlands Fire Service statement said: "Our crews worked in challenging conditions to contain and extinguish the fire. "

"Cordons remain in place. Both scenes are expected to remain under joint investigation for the next few days."

"We would like to thank the local community for their patience and support as our work continues."

Anyone who was in the area at the time of the fire and saw what happened is advised to contact West Midlands Police via 101 or Live Chat quoting log 379 of 10 May.