Prayers following arson at house

The family have not been seen since Osbaston House burnt down

Prayers have been said at a church service for a millionaire and his family who are officially missing since their home was destroyed by a fire.

Two bodies were found on Saturday at the Shropshire address of businessman Christopher Foster, 50, wife Jillian, 49, and 15-year-old daughter, Kirstie.

Police said Osbaston House, near Maesbrook, was deliberately set alight.

A search, including scraping the floor of the main part of the building where the bodies were found, has continued.

'Hard to grasp'

Sunday was the third day of the search of the main part of the house.

About 40 people gathered at St John's church, Maesbrook, for a Holy Communion service to pray for the family.

Addressing the congregation, the Rev Prebendary David Austerberry said: "The events which have unfolded in our village this week have bewildered and stunned every one of us, not only in this community but across the country.

"It is hard to grasp exactly what has happened.

"It is clearly going to be some time before everything is revealed but today we pray for the Fosters and their family and friends who must be devastated by the events of early last Tuesday morning."

Churchgoers give their reaction to the events

Police said they could not give any further details about the age or gender of the bodies that had been found.

The remains will be examined by a Home Office pathologist and post-mortem examinations will be carried out.

Formal identification was yet to take place and there were a range of techniques which could help, such as dental records and DNA profiles, Supt Gary Higgins has said.

He added: "It is going to be a painstaking and lengthy process before the full examination of the house and its surrounds is completed.

"In the meantime, we will keep an open mind concerning what we may, or may not find."

He said while the bodies remained unidentified, the Foster family still remained unaccounted for.

About 100 police officers and staff are involved in the investigation

Police have retrieved two computers from the house and are examining them, as well as CCTV cameras.

Three horses found dead in a stable block, which was also gutted in the fire, have now been examined and police are awaiting test results.

Detectives also confirmed the bodies of three dogs had been found close to the horses. A large horse box, parked close to the gates of the property, had been removed from the site for forensic examination.

The fire in the house, thought to be valued at £1.2m, started at about 0500 BST on Tuesday.

Mr Foster, who made his fortune developing insulation technology for oil rigs, is listed as the director of Ulva Limited - a thermal insulation manufacturing company in Telford - with Mrs Foster named as company secretary.

The firm went into administration in August last year and a court order was issued in November for the company to be wound up.

A judge later found Mr Foster had spent the previous months stripping Ulva of its assets and transferring them to a new firm he had set up called Ulva International.

Anyone with information about the fire has been asked to contact West Mercia Police's incident room at Shrewsbury, or Crimestoppers.