A mother and her two young children have died in a horrific house fire that engulfed their Cotswold home in the early hours of Boxing Day. The father, a serving officer with Gloucestershire Police, survived after making multiple desperate but unsuccessful attempts to save his family.
Desperate Rescue Attempts in the Face of Blaze
Emergency services were called to a property on Brimscombe Hill, near Stroud, Gloucestershire, at about 3am on 26 December 2025. Detective Superintendent Ian Fletcher detailed the heartbreaking sequence of events, explaining that the parents were awoken by the fire and tried to reach their children in a rear bedroom.
The father smashed his way out through a bathroom window in a bid to access the children's bedroom from outside, but was unable to enter. He then tried to re-enter via the same window, but by that stage the fire had taken hold in the bathroom, blocking his path. In a final, frantic effort, he went downstairs and tried to force his way in through both the front and back doors, but the intensity of the flames prevented entry.
Scene of Devastation and Ongoing Investigation
The fire, which is believed to have started on the ground floor, caused catastrophic damage. The roof of the mid-terrace Cotswold stone cottage collapsed, and the ceilings and stairs gave way. The body of a woman in her late 30s has been recovered, while the body of a child has been located at the scene. Investigations to establish the exact cause are ongoing, but police are not treating the fire as suspicious.
Det Supt Fletcher described the immense anguish of the officer who survived. "We have multiple witnesses who describe the anguish that he was going through, his inability to get in and save his children and save his wife," he said. "He is, as you can imagine, in a very distraught way."
Community and Colleagues Rally in Support
Nathaniel Hooton, deputy chief fire officer of Gloucestershire Fire & Rescue Service, said crews faced a "well-developed serious fire" on arrival and tried their hardest to rescue the occupants. The Gloucestershire Police Federation issued a statement expressing profound sorrow, calling it an "unimaginable tragedy" and pledging full support to their devastated colleague and his wider police family.
The incident has cast a shadow over the festive period for the local community and the police force, with the federation noting that the whole police family across the UK is offering condolences to the grieving father.
