Four children dead in house fire

FOUR young children, all under the age of 10, have died in a fire at their home.

Neighbours of the family struggled to reach the two boys and two girls, who were brothers and sisters, as the blaze took hold last night but could not open the front door of the property.

The children's 45-year-old mother, named locally as Rachel Henson, escaped and then tried, unsuccessfully, to get back into the house to rescue her children. She is being treated in hospital for smoke inhalation.

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Two of the children were carried out of the house in Hulland Ward, near Ashbourne, Derbyshire, by firefighters but could not be resuscitated. The bodies of the other two children were later found inside the semi-detached house in Highfield Road.

A police spokesman said the boys who died were aged nine and four, and the girls were six and two.

Their mother, who runs Boyz, a barber's shop in Ashbourne, had recently had work done on the central heating of the house which involved metal pipes being inserted into the chimney, a neighbour said.

The cause of the fire, which broke out on the ground floor at about 11.30pm yesterday while the children slept upstairs, is not yet known. Derbyshire Constabulary and Derbyshire Fire Service have launched a joint investigation.

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Neighbour Brian Sellers said the mother had lived in the house for about 10 years.

The 63-year-old said: "By the time the fire service arrived, the blaze was well on its way and I don't think they had much chance.

"It's a shock for everyone here. It just feels really strange."

Residents tried to reach the occupants of the house but could not open the front door. That door, as well as the front and side windows of the property, were badly scorched by the fire.

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About 20 firefighters helped to bring the blaze under control.

Gavin Tomlinson, from Derbyshire Fire and Rescue, said of the neighbours' attempts to help: "I'm aware that they did try to get into the door on the ground floor but it was locked. We effected the rescues from the first floor using a ladder."

He said the fire service was keeping an "open mind" as to the cause of the blaze, and could not say whether it was suspicious.

The first floor of the house was badly damaged by the fire, with two windows at the back pulled out and parts of the charred rooms inside visible. Two ladders were propped up against the wall and a children's see-saw and slide could be seen outside.

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Forensic officers have been gathering evidence at the property today. The road remains cordoned off.

One of the children was a pupil at Bradley Church of England Primary School.

A school spokeswoman said: "Everyone in the school is absolutely devastated by this tragedy.

"Our thoughts are with the family at this sad time."

She would not confirm which of the children attended the school.

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Around half a dozen floral tributes had been left outside Boyz in the centre of Ashbourne and a picture of one of the girls had been pinned to the front door.

Chris Beech, whose parents own the store next door to the barber's, came to lay a bunch of flowers and said: "Rachel's just a lovely person, always bubbly, and she lived for her kids.

"Whenever I saw her she was smiling."

Mr Beech said he did not know the children that well but had seen them in the area.

"My sister's kids played with them sometimes," he said. "They seemed like lovely children and were a very close family.

"There's a lot of upset and shocked people today."

One of the cards that had been left with a bunch of flowers said: "Our hearts go out to you at such a tragic loss."

Another said: "For four beautiful children. Taken too early."