Leicester shop explosion: Police make seventh arrest

The shop and flat in Hinckley Road, Leicester, were both destroyed in the blast

Detectives investigating an explosion that killed five people in Leicester have made a seventh arrest.

A Polish supermarket and the flat above it were destroyed in the blast on the evening of 25 February.

On Monday, Leicester Magistrates' Court was told the explosion was caused by petrol being spread through the shop.

A man in his 30s, from the East Midlands, was arrested earlier on suspicion of manslaughter and is being questioned by detectives.

Mary Ragoobar is believed to have been killed in the blast, along with her sons Sean (left) and Shane (right)

Brothers Shane Ragoobeer, 18, and Sean Ragoobeer, 17, who lived in the two-storey flat above the shop in Hinckley Road, have been named as among the dead.

Their mother Mary Ragoobar, 46, is also thought to have died but has not been formally identified.

Shane's girlfriend Leah Beth Reek, 18, and shop worker Viktorija Ijevleva, 22, also died in the explosion.

Three men, including the store's owner Aram Kurd, 33, along with Hawkar Hassan, 32, and Arkan Ali, 37, have been charged with arson and manslaughter.

Store owner Aram Kurd is among the three men charged with arson and manslaughter

On Monday, prosecuting solicitor Zoe Lee told Leicester Magistrates' Court: "It has been established that the explosion was caused by petrol and the petrol was spread throughout the shop."

The men were all remanded in custody and will appear at Leicester Crown Court on 3 April via video link.

The explosion killed Viktorija Ijevleva, the partner of Arkan Ali - one of the men accused of arson and manslaughter

On Sunday, a sixth man was arrested by police investigating the explosion.

The man, in his 40s and from East Anglia, who was held on suspicion of manslaughter, has been released under investigation.

Two other arrested men have also been released under investigation.

Leah Reek, who was the girlfriend of Shane Ragoobeer, also died in the explosion

Police have appealed for dashcam footage from drivers on the A47 heading towards Leicester on Sunday, 25 February between 17:30 and 19:15 GMT.