THE St Helens man who died in a house fire in Bolton last week has been named as Christopher Murphy.

Mr Murphy was squatting in the vacant Manchester Road property at the time of the fire which ocurred last Wednesday evening.

An investigation was launched in the immediate aftermath of the fatal blaze and Greater Manchester Police are now treating the incident as “non-suspicious”.

A police spokesman said: “At this stage police do not believe this was a suspicious incident pending a coroner’s inquiry.

“We can confirm that the man who died was a squatter and we have traced a family link to an address in St Helens.”

Fire crews were called to the blaze at about 6pm on Wednesday. Two firefighters entered the house and pulled Mr Murphy out.

Paramedics then attempted to revive him at the scene before taking him to hospital where he later died. The house in Manchester Road suffered extensive damage.

Two firefighters believed to have suffered heat exhaustion following the fire have since recovered.

The cause of 43 year-old Mr Murphy’s death will now be determined at an inquest.