Kirton house fire: Murder probe continues

Officers from the East Midlands Specialist Operations Unit work to establish the cause of the fire

Investigations are continuing to establish the cause of a house fire which killed three people on New Year's Day.

A murder investigation was launched following the blaze in Pear Tree Road, Kirton, near Boston in Lincolnshire.

A 27-year-old woman, a man aged 24 and a man aged 32, none of whom were related, died in the blaze.

The inquiry is being treated as "domestic-related" and police said the suspect died in the fire.

Officers from the East Midlands Specialist Operations Unit are sorting through the rubble to establish the cause.

The site remains cordoned off

Lincolnshire Police said they were "still trying to piece together what happened", adding that there had been a relationship between two of the parties involved and "the incident we believe is as a result of an issue with that relationship".

Those who died in the blaze have not yet been officially named.

Officers said a file would be sent to the coroner when the investigation was completed.

Two other women were taken to hospital after the blaze, but have since been discharged.

One of the women was reported to have jumped from an upstairs window while the other was rescued after neighbours smashed a window on the door of the property.

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Michael Wood was one of those involved in the rescue.

He said he rushed to the scene after being woken up by a loud bang which "rattled his house".

"I just saw someone in the door and the one thing I had to do was get her out," he said.

Mr Wood described seeing the aftermath of the fire and learning of the fatalities as "horrendous".

"I sat on the kerb outside the house and broke down a little bit," he said.

He said the blaze had left the local community in a state of shock.