Walkden fire: Mum of four killed children thanks firefighters

A mother who was badly injured in a fire which killed four of her children has recorded a message to thank firefighters for their efforts.

Michelle Pearson's children, Demi, Brandon, Lacie and Lia, were murdered in the attack on their home in Walkden, Salford, on 11 December 2017.

Her video, recorded from her hospital bed, was played at a vigil on the first anniversary of the petrol bomb attack.

She also thanked the local community for their "generous donations".

The siblings' grandmother said it had been "quite an emotional day"

In April, Ms Pearson came out of the coma she had been in since the fire and was told of her children's deaths.

Demi, 15, her brother, Brandon, aged eight, and sisters, Lacie, seven, and Lia, three, were murdered as they slept in their beds in Jackson Street after Zak Bolland, 23, and David Worrall, 26, threw petrol bombs inside.

It followed a feud with the victims' 17-year-old brother, which prompted a series of escalating tit-for-tat attacks.

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In the video, Ms Pearson thanked the firefighters "for what they have done" and the community "for all their generous donations".

Ms Lever said the community had "all stuck together for the past 12 months"

Speaking at the vigil, which was held at the family's home, the children's grandmother Sandra Lever said well-wishers had lit the entire street with candles in memory of the four "little angels".

She said it had been "quite an emotional day" and a gathering of friends and family at their home in Jackson Street had helped get her through it.

"They've all stuck together for the past 12 months with the funeral and the birthdays. We couldn't have done it without them," she said.

Ms Lever said she hoped to make the memorial an annual event.

Bolland and Worrall were both given four life sentences for murder in May.

Courtney Brierley, who was Bolland's girlfriend, was jailed for 21 years for four counts of manslaughter.