A search by police and fire crews for the bodies of a Conservative MP and his wife, feared dead after fire ripped through their country mansion looks set to continue.

Backbencher Michael Colvin, 67, and his wife Nichola, 62, are believed to have been killed in the inferno which broke out at their home on Thursday.

Their £4m, 10-bedroom mansion, Tangley House, near Andover, Hampshire, was left gutted as temperatures reached a searing 1,000 degrees Celsius.

Forensic scientists, scenes of crime officers and fire investigators will resume searching on Sunday for remains of the couple.

But detectives said they are certain the Colvins had died in the blaze after making extensive inquiries to trace them.

A spokesman for Hampshire Police said nothing significant had yet been found and added it was possible that further demolition would need to be carried out on the house to make the structure safe.

Detective Superintendent Mike Lane, leading the investigation, said the search of the burned out shell, which began on Friday, could take several days.

Devoted

Their children said on Friday that they accepted their parents had been killed, saying they gain comfort from the fact that the devoted couple died as they lived - together.

The MP's son, Jamie Cayzer-Colvin, said: "My sisters Amanda and Arabella, Elizabeth, my mother's sister, and Alistair, my father's brother and I have been overwhelmed by the amazing warmth and kindness that has been shown to us by so many people during these dreadful hours.

"My parents touched countless people's lives but none more so than all of those at Tangley who meant so much to them and who did so much to help on Thursday morning."

He added: "Mamma and Dadda were devoted to each other. They were inseparable in life and our only consolation is knowing that they died together in the home that they loved."

Alvaro Pereira, the couple's butler of more than 40 years, who was one of the first to be alerted to the blaze, said he did not believe the house had been fitted with smoke alarms.

Fire station officer John Greenbank said: "We believe the house didn't have smoke alarms.

"If that is the case, the fire service have to take responsibility in that we failed to get across the importance of smoke detectors in the home.

"If any good is to come out of this tragedy, I would implore people to go out and buy a smoke detector. For the price of a packet of cigarettes or a couple of magazines, you will make your house safer."