A RETIRED high school teacher has died in a forest fire that has devastated a mountainside between three villages.

The blaze broke out at around lunchtime yesterday in a pine forest near Arenas de San Pedro, El Arenal and Mombeltrán (Ávila).

Hundreds of residents have been evacuated from their homes as the inferno continues to burn out of control.

The local sports centre and three schools have been prepared to house the evacuees in case more people are forced to leave their houses.

Javier Heras Artero, 63, was found dead in his home on the Las Majadas urbanisation in Arenas de San Pedro.

Forensics are due to carry out DNA tests on him to fully confirm his identity, since his body was so badly burnt it was impossible to be certain.

Firefighters were also hunting for a woman who disappeared after the blaze broke out, but she was found alive and well near the deceased’s home.

According to the ministry for the environment of the Castilla y León regional government, the fire has been started in three places, leading emergency services to believe it is the work of an arsonist.