VILLAGERS have told of their shock after one of their neighbours was found dead in his garage near Dorchester.

The body of the man, named locally as Dean Bradford, was discovered after a fire in the garage in Church Hill, Piddlehinton.

Tributes have been paid to Mr Bradford, who lived in Church Hill, and neighbours have said they want to support the family.

The Rev Tony Monds, of St Mary’s Church in Piddlehinton, said the whole village was shocked and saddened by the death.

He said: “It is a close community in Piddlehinton and everyone feels great sorrow and sadness.

“But it does bring the community together in wanting to support the family at this time. We want to do whatever we can to support his wife, Dawn, and the children.”

He added: “The village is very shocked and saddened by what has happened. Piddlehinton is relatively small so incidents like this tend to be less likely, but this can happen anywhere.”

Neighbours raised the alarm after spotting the blaze at 8am on Sunday. Police and firefighters found a body but said that there were no suspicious circumstances.

The dead man was named locally as Dean Bradford, who is believed to be married with children.

Neighbours in Church Hill said they had pushed notes of support underneath the door of the family home. One neighbour, who did not want to be named, said: “We put a note through the door because we feel very sad for them.”

Another added: “It is awful to hear the news and it is definitely a shock. The family kept themselves to themselves, but then a lot of us do. They seemed like a happy family.”

Eyewitnesses also described watching the garage, which was completely destroyed, burn down.

One resident, whose husband made a 999 call, said she woke up at 7.20am to a ‘popping sound’.

She said: “It sounded like gun fire at first and then it sounded like a machine gun.

“My husband and I looked out of the window and the whole garage was up in flames.

“It was such a ferocious fire that the flames were literally leaping into the trees.”

Her husband added: “There were two fire engines to begin with and a fire investigation officer.

“Then the ambulance arrived and paramedics were going in with smoke breathing apparatus.

“The next we knew they had cornered the road off.

“Then right at the end, at about 2.15pm, we saw what looked like a funeral director’s car arrive and the driver was wearing what looked like undertaker’s clothes.”

He added: “This is the first incident like this to have happened here. It is very sad.”

Firefighters were called to the detached garage near to Mr Bradford’s home just before 8am after reports that it was ablaze.

A police spokesman said: “Although formal identification has not taken place, the death is not being treated as suspicious.”