Man, 31, arrested on suspicion of murder after girls, 1 & 3, killed in Nottingham fire that left woman fighting for life

A MAN has been arrested on suspicion of murder following a horror flat fire that killed two girls and left a woman fighting for life.

The blaze ripped through the first-floor flat in Nottingham at around 3.17am yesterday.

Firefighters and paramedics rushed to the scene and two girls, aged three and one, were taken to hospital.

Tragically they couldn’t be saved and died shortly after.

A woman – who’s age has not been confirmed – was also rushed to hospital where she remains in critical condition.

A murder probe was launched after firefighters and cops concluded the blaze was “started deliberately”.

Detectives have now arrested a 31-year-old man from Clifton on suspicion of murder and attempted murder.

He remains in custody for questioning.

Horrified neighbours told how the fire took hold of the flat in the early hours of the morning.

One told The Sun: “I saw the firefighters carrying the little ones out, they were still alive and I thought how lucky they were to have escaped those flames.

“The whole flat was engulfed in fire and thick black smoke and many of the neighbours had to be evacuated and are still not allowed back home.”

Local dad Rob added: “There were emergency services everywhere and firefighters had gotten into the flat and managed to rescue the two little kids, one’s just a baby.

“They were lucky to be alive, and I prayed for them, but later heard they had passed away and I wept for them.

“It’ s such a harrowing thing to see and made worse because the fire was started deliberately.

“It is awful, just unimaginable. It is absolutely heartbreaking.”

‘ABSOLUTELY HEARTBREAKING’

Another neighbour said: “We all feel for the poor mother, waking up to find her kids have gone is going to be horrible for her.”

Detective Chief Inspector Greg McGill, who is leading the investigation, said: “This is a deeply tragic incident and we have a large team working tirelessly to understand the full circumstances.

“Whilst we have now made an arrest, the investigation remains at an early stage and we are continuing to appeal to anyone who has even the slightest bit of information, or even CCTV or dash-cam footage, to please come forward.”

Inspector Ben Lawrence, who has led reassurance patrols in the local community following the fire, added: “These are clearly very sad circumstances and our thoughts continue to be with the family of those involved.

“This has also been an extremely traumatic event for the local community, especially for neighbours who have been left shocked and deeply saddened by the deaths of two very young children.

“We’ve increased reassurance patrols in the area and if anyone has any concerns we’d encourage them to speak to one of our officers.”

Anyone with information that could assist the investigation is asked to submit to the force’s , or call police on 101 quoting incident 0110_20112022.