The body of an elderly Ilkley woman was found by firefighters when they responded to an alarm call in town on Monday.

Fire crews from Otley and Rawdon were called out to 3 Mayfield Close, off Mayfield Avenue, at around 10.15am to respond to an activated smoke alarm.

But when they got to the address there was no sign of any fire or smoke damage and they decided they would have to break in to find out what was going on.

Once inside the firefighters discovered 83-year-old Margaret Hewitt lying on the floor of the kitchen, and carried her out to the hall.

They then used life-saving equipment and first aid techniques to try to revive her, but to no avail.

Leading firefighter at Rawdon, Simeon Sharp, explained: "A kettle, which was non-automatic, was still on the ring of the stove and the steam had set the smoke alarm off, so we went there thinking it was a fire.

"But we couldn't get in at all as the doors and windows were all completely locked, and there was no smell coming from the letterbox or any sign of what was happening. It was all a bit weird.

"We decided to smash a window to get in and found the lady slumped in the kitchen. We took her to the hallway and tried to revive her using a defibrillator, oxygen and CPR.

"Just afterwards an ambulance turned up and its crew used one of their larger defibrillators but she was pronounced dead at the scene."

West Yorkshire Police say the incident is not being treated as suspicious. A post mortem examination was carried out and it revealed that she died of natural causes.