Sister's tribute to brother found dead after fire

A woman has paid tribute to her “beautiful” brother who was found dead after a fire - and said she was grateful to be his baby sister.

Jamie Parker’s body was found by emergency workers four days after they were first called to the blaze at the derelict Yates wine bar off Trinity Street in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, on 12 March.

The 40-year-old’s cause of death was recorded as “unascertained” after a post-mortem examination, Staffordshire Police said previously.

A man and a woman arrested after the blaze have since been released with no further action, the force confirmed.

Speaking for the first time since his death, Mr Parker’s sister Stephanie Parker described her brother as a naturally funny person who was always cracking jokes.

She told BBC Radio Stoke: “He was such a beautiful person and he had everything going for him.”

“I’m grateful that I got to be his baby sister, I really am. I couldn’t have asked for a brother to love me any more than he did.”

Jamie and Stephanie Parker grew up in Abbey Hulton, Stoke-on-Trent

The pair grew up in Abbey Hulton, Stoke-on-Trent, and were two of four siblings, with Ms Parker saying that her brother would treat her as a baby, even when they were adults.

He was also a “very handsome guy”, she said, admitting that she would get annoyed that all the girls at school fancied him.

But Mr Parker’s life began to spiral after he suffered a brain injury in 2011, when he was hit by a car going at about 60mph, Ms Parker said.

The issues were exacerbated by a drug addiction, then by the deaths of their eldest sister in 2015 and their mum in 2020, she added.

Ms Parker said her brother was "naturally funny" and always cracking jokes

“I don’t think there was any coming back from it, for Jamie, after that,” Ms Parker said.

She said she would often try to help him by offering a place for him to stay when he was homeless.

She would later find out he was staying away to try and protect the family from the life he was living.

“I just feel like he was failed. We question ourselves as a family – what more could we have done? It was a very complex situation,” Ms Parker said.

Ms Parker said she missed her brother a lot and had done for years

She said there was not enough help for people who were in situations similar to her brother, adding that there was only so much the family could do.

Ms Parker said: “I miss him a lot. I’ve missed him for years even before he was gone, with the road he went down."

“He deserved better, he really did deserve better," she added.