Stafford house fire: Hundreds attend candlelit vigil

(L-R) Keegan, Tilly Rose, Olly and Riley, seen here in a photo taken from social media, died in the blaze in the early hours of Tuesday

Hundreds of people have taken part in a candlelit vigil following the deaths of four children in a house fire.

Riley Holt, eight, Keegan Unitt, six, Tilly Rose Unitt, four, and Olly Unitt, three, died in the blaze in Highfields, Stafford, on Tuesday.

More than £28,000 has been raised on a JustGiving page for the family and community centres say they have been "inundated" with donations.

The cause of the fire is unknown and investigations are continuing.

The children's mother and her partner leapt from a first-floor window with the siblings' two-year-old brother.

Natalie Unitt, 24, Chris Moulton, 28, and two-year-old Jack did not sustain life-threatening injuries.

People laid flowers and teddies near the scene of the blaze

People met at the Oxleathers pub for the vigil and left at 20:30 GMT on Thursday to walk near to the house with balloons and teddy bears.

Pastor Chrissie Remsberg told the BBC: "In the midst of what is really, really dark, there aren't words to offer, but I think people and the community came out because they love and they care about the family.

"It's a tight-knit community Highfields, it's a good place."

Landlady Debbie Howe said she hoped the vigil would "bring people together"

Organiser of the vigil and landlady Debbie Howe said: "I'm hoping it brings people together, hopefully people can reach out to each other tonight, people can hopefully have a chat, I think that's what they need."

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Stephen Glover, who launched the online appeal, said it had been a "fantastic community response".

"Everybody in the whole district has rallied together," he said.

"All the schools on Friday are doing a non-uniform day where they're raising money for the family.

"We've been inundated with furniture and clothes."

Mr Glover added he "can't comprehend the pain and suffering" the family was going through.

Hundreds of people attended the vigil on Thursday

Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service's deputy chief fire officer Rob Barber said his team had found the fire and its aftermath "challenging".

"Our work investigating the cause of the fire continues and we will make that public as soon as we are able," he said.