A ‘kind-hearted’ Cwmbran woman died in a fire at home after her faulty fridge freezer exploded, an inquest heard.

Samantha Elaine Thomas, aged 29, died in a fire in her first-floor flat in Shakespeare Road on May 19.

Gwent Coroner's Court sitting in Newport today heard the cause of the fire was a fridge freezer which was in the living room of the flat.

David Paul Fields known as Paul was Miss Thomas' fiance and was asleep in the living room at the time the fire started. He has since died of cancer but said in his statement he had bought the fridge freezer two years ago in a second hand shop.

He said on the evening of May 19 he had fallen asleep on the sofa and an explosion noise woke him up in the early hours of the morning.

He said the fridge freezer was on fire and he could see the flames had spread to the curtains. They tried to put the fire out with a wet towel but Mr Fields said the heat from the fire was ‘intense’ and shouted to his fiancee to get the dogs and get out.

He said he thought his fiancee was following him outside.

He said: "I wanted to back inside to get her. The flat was well ablaze with thick black smoke.

"Even though I wanted to help Sam I know it wasn't possible in trying I would have been killed. The way the fire was burning I knew she had gone."

Mr Fields was taken to the Royal Gwent Hospital with smoke inhalation following the fire. He said the couple had a good relationship and were very close.

Barbara Webster, a neighbour of the couple, said around 6.15am she heard a 'popping noise' and could see lots of grey and black smoke coming from the flat.

She said: "Sam was on the balcony. She shouted Paul's in there, Paul's in there. She was so worried about him."

She said she saw three young men were trying to help Miss Thomas over the balcony but said she seemed scared and 'couldn't come over the balcony as the gap was too small.'

Jayne Thomas, Miss Thomas' mother, said she was a 'happy go lucky' girl and tributes following the 29-year-old's death described her as 'kind-hearted' and 'generous.'

Fire officer Vaughan Jenkins, from South Wales Fire and Rescue Service, concluded the cause of fire to be the compressor within the fridge freezer in living room which had failed.

A post mortem examination carried out by consultant pathologist Richard Jones concluded that Miss Thomas had died as a result of exposure to fire.

The coroner David Bowen returned a verdict of accidental death.