Great Waldingfield: Man arrested after mother and daughter found dead

Police are treating the two deaths as murder

A police force has referred itself to a watchdog after a mother and daughter were found dead at a property.

Suffolk Police said officers were called to an address in Heath Estate in Great Waldingfield at about 09:55 BST on Thursday.

A 44-year-old woman and a 12-year-old girl, who were mother and daughter, were found dead and a 46-year-old man was detained, the force said.

Police said they were treating the two deaths as murder.

The man had serious injuries and was taken to hospital by air ambulance, where he remains under arrest in a critical but stable condition, officers said.

The force added in a statement: "Due to the fact that there had been previous (but not recent) contact between the victim and Suffolk Constabulary, the matter has been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct for their assessment, in line with agreed protocols."

The force said it was a "contained incident, with no wider threat to the community", adding officers believed all three individuals were known to each other.

A post-mortem examination on the woman concluded her cause of death was pressure on the neck. An examination on the 12-year-old girl is due to take place next week.

The force also said a gas leak was reported at the property which required neighbouring properties to be evacuated before it was made safe.