Mother and two children die in Boxing Day blaze

A mother and her two children have died in a fire that destroyed their home in Stroud on Boxing Day.

The father, a serving police officer with Gloucestershire Constabulary, escaped and tried to save his family, and he was later taken to hospital.

Emergency services were called to the "well-established" fire on Brimscombe Hill in Stroud, Gloucestershire, at about 03:00 GMT on Friday.

A seven-year-old girl, a four-year-old boy and their mother, aged in her late 30s, were all trapped inside the burning property. The body of the mother was recovered on Sunday but formal identification is yet to take place.

The mother and father were woken by the fire and he smashed his way out through the bathroom window to try and reach their children in the back bedroom.

But he was unable to because of the "ferocity and heat" of the blaze, Det Supt Ian Fletcher added.

The father tried to go back through the bathroom but the fire "had taken hold" and his attempts get in through the front and back doors also failed.

"We have multiple witnesses to the anguish he was going through at his inability to get in and save his children and save his wife," Det Supt Fletcher said.

"He is, as you can imagine, in a very distraught way. He has sadly lost his family at a time which is supposed to be a happy festive period."

Police said the officer was treated in hospital and has since been discharged.

'Unimaginable tragedy'

Police confirmed the body of one child has been located but still remains inside the property.

Emergency services said they had been "unable to recover" the child's body "at this time".

They are still working to locate the body of the second child but the unstable condition of the property requires teams to proceed with caution.

They added that the fire began on the ground floor and that there were not believed to be any suspicious circumstances surrounding the cause.

Temporary Chief Constable Maggie Blyth said: "This is an unimaginable tragedy and my thoughts are with our colleague, along with all of those involved and impacted by what has happened.

"At a time when we are all acutely aware of family and the joys that they can bring, my heart breaks at the indescribable pain that they must be experiencing."

During a news conference, Det Supt Fletcher said: "We are very much in a process where we're looking to recover the bodies of all of the victims inside the property in a dignified way, in order to return them to the family.

"I can confirm the husband and the surviving member of the family is a serving police officer at Gloucestershire Constabulary.

"Our hearts and prayers go out to him and all of his colleagues.

"He is obviously working with us in order to try and understand exactly what has happened in that property."

He added the family had asked for privacy.

The police say anyone who needs support should contact the British Red Cross.

'Tried their hardest'

Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service said its crews managed to stop the fire spreading from the mid-terraced house into neighbouring homes but the damage to the house was extensive.

"We were faced with a well-developed, serious fire upon arrival," said deputy chief fire officer Nathaniel Hooton.

"There is significant damage internally with loss of floors, stairwells and a collapsed roof.

"[Crews] tried their hardest to get in there and do whatever was necessary and continue to work extremely hard to support the recovery of the unfortunate loss of life.

"Our hearts, thoughts and prayers go out to our colleagues in the constabulary, local communities and the people who have worked extremely hard in very difficult circumstances."

A spokesperson from the Gloucestershire Police Federation, which represents police staff, said: "This is an unimaginable tragedy to have struck a colleague and their family and our hearts are broken for them.

"The federation is offering as much support as is possible to our colleague at this deeply saddening time.

"We are also supporting devastated colleagues and teammates of the officer concerned."

Chloe Turner, leader of Stroud District Council, said the authority would be offering support for the community and emergency personnel.

"My heart goes out to everybody impacted by this horrific incident," she added.

"It's been very upsetting in this limbo state, waiting for news. The family are known and loved locally so it's a really difficult time."