Police appeal for help after man bursts into flames and dies while walking down London street

Detectives are appealing for information and witnesses.

The Met Police have appealed for information after a man mysteriously burst into flames while walking down a London street. The incident occurred shortly after 13:00 on Sunday, 17 September and at the time, emergency services were called to Orchard Place N17 - near to Williams House. The fire was quickly extinguished and the man was taken to a specialist hospital outside of London by London's Air Ambulance. Sadly, he passed away due to the severity of the burns. The man who died has been identified as John Nolan, 70, who was originally from County Mayo in Ireland but he was living in Tenterden Road, N17. Mr. Nolan was a retired construction worker who was unmarried. The cause of the blaze was being investigated by specialist LFB investigators and no accelerant was found. At present, no arrests have been made and the death is being treated as an unexplained fatality. An inquest will open at Barnet Coroner's Court on 13 March 2018. The investigating officer, PC Damien Ait-Amer, said: "We have spoken with a number of witnesses who saw Mr. Nolan abalze, but we have yet to establish how the fire started. Mr Nolan was a well-liked member of the community and none of our enquiries so far have indicated that he had been involved in a dispute of any sort. Nor does any account given by witnesses suggest that he had been in contact with another person at the time of the fire." Anyone who witnessed the incident but has yet to speak with police is urged to call PC Damien Ait-Amer via 101. https://twitter.com/metpoliceuk/status/941561470369910784