Prime Minister Andy Burnham has confirmed the Government is providing "all of the support that the authorities need" following a "terribly tragic" house fire near Middlesbrough, in which a woman and a child lost their lives.
Valentina Foster, aged seven, and Natalie McDonald, 34, died as a result of the fire at an end-of-terrace property in Birchington Avenue, Grangetown, near Middlesbrough. Heartfelt tributes have been laid at the scene of the blaze.
Arrests and injuries
Cleveland Police confirmed that two men, aged 23 and 31, have been arrested on suspicion of murder and remain in custody following the blaze. A 48-year-old woman remains in a critical condition at the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) in Newcastle, while three others suffered injuries thought to be non-life-threatening.
The fire occurred less than a mile from the site of a collision on the A66, where seven people were killed, including two police officers.
Prime Minister's response
When questioned about both incidents during a visit to South Wales, the Prime Minister told reporters: "Obviously we're offering all of the support that the authorities need. The important thing, it's a terribly tragic event that's happened with the loss of a young woman and her seven-year-old niece."
He went on to say: "Utterly devastating, and I'm sure there's a whole community that is grieving, not just what happened at the weekend, and particularly we should stress our deepest respect for the police officers lost in the line of duty and sending our sympathies to their families."
"And we will obviously make sure that the support is there for them going forward. The only thing I can say this morning is there is an investigation underway. It will be the fullest possible investigation. The authorities will have all of the support that they need," reports Teesside Live.
"We do need to understand the extent to which they may be connected, but they may not be. So I think it's too early to jump to conclusions. But what we can say at this point in time is that all of the support will be provided to get to the heart of what has happened here."
Family tribute
Natalie's mother, Lisa Kirton, has paid a tribute to her daughter. Lisa has described Natalie as "a beautiful, bubbly person who everyone knew."
She said: "She had a heart of gold who would give anyone anything. She left behind a daughter with no parents."
"We live opposite and were woken at 5am and there were people getting dragged out of fires when we were there at the scene. We were waiting for Natalie to come out and after about three hours police told us she had died."
