Fire claims child's life

The boy's mother and brother escaped the fire

Investigations are under way into the cause of a fire in Fife which claimed the life of a seven-year-old boy.

Emergency services were called to the incident in Markinch, near Glenrothes, on Monday evening at 2140 GMT.

The identity of the young victim is not yet known.

The boy's mother and brother were also in the block of flats at Croft Crescent at the time of the fire but managed to escape.

Police said the dead boy had later been found in his bedroom.

On Tuesday morning police, fire officers and forensic experts were carrying out a detailed examination of the house to establish the cause of the fire.

A Fife Constabulary spokesman said: "A fire is always tragic especially when a young life is lost."