Man dies in canal boat fire in Wiltshire

An investigation has been launched after a man was killed in a canal boat fire

Firefighters were called to the blaze after a dog walker spotted flames coming from the boat on the Kennet and Avon Canal at Hilperton Marsh in Wiltshire.

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Tests fail to find cause of canal boat fire which killed an electrical engineer

Jason Phillips was killed in the fire on the canal boat in Wiltshire Credit: ITV News

Tests have failed to find out how an electrical engineer died in a blaze on a narrow boat on the Kennet and Avon Canal in Wiltshire, an inquest heard today.

Toxicology tests were ordered because a post mortem had failed to find the cause of death. The dead man, Jason Phillips, who was 42, was identified by his brother Stuart. Emergency services were alerted to the fire last Tuesday at Hilperton, near Trowbridge, by a dog walker. The inquest at Salisbury, Wiltshire, has been adjourned to a date to be fixed.

Police not treating canal boat death as suspicious

Wiltshire police say the death of a man found in a fire on a house boat on the Kennet and Avon canal is not being treated as suspicious.

The man - believed to be in his 40s - was brought to land by firefighters this morning but was confirmed dead at the scene.

Formal identification is likely to take place in the next week.

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