Fatal fire 'started deliberately'

Forensic experts were examining the house

A murder inquiry has begun in Liverpool after a woman died when a house was deliberately set alight.

Emergency services were called to the house on Lambourne Road in Walton early on Wednesday morning, after neighbours raised the alarm.

Police said a 22-year-old woman died at the scene and a man and two-year-old girl were taken to hospital to be treated for their injuries.

Officers are keen to speak to three men seen acting suspiciously in the area.

The woman was downstairs when the fire started

Police said the man and boy were upstairs and the woman downstairs in the house when the fire started. It has been sealed off for forensic examination.

Officers were also looking at a callbox near the house, and a burnt-out area - possibly where a car was set alight.

A post-mortem examination on the woman's body was expected to take place on Wednesday afternoon.

Merseyside Police is urging anyone with information about the fire to contact them or Crimestoppers.