Funeral for family killed in fire

Lewis and Sophie have been described as wonderful grandchildren

The funeral has taken place of an entire family killed in a house fire in South Yorkshire.

Mark Colley, 29 and his pregnant wife Michelle, 25, were killed along with their son Lewis, three, in the blaze in South Street, Highfields, Doncaster.

Their five-year-old daughter Sophie died in hospital two days after the fire last month.

The funeral service was held at Doncaster Minster. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Family 'devastated'

At the service Reverend Stephen Gardner said: "What happened on the night of 29 March is truly a tragedy that has changed our world forever.

"Words like tragedy and disaster are often bandied around in our world.

"We have grown accustomed to seeing images of death and destruction on our television screens, of reading in our papers of the latest tragedy to overwhelm a community.

The children's white coffins were adorned with flowers

"Yet when it happens on your watch, on your patch, in your parish, in your street, to your friends, to your family, to you those words take on a whole new meaning."

In an earlier statement, Lewis and Sophie's grandparents said: "Mark and Michelle were wonderful parents and gave us wonderful grandchildren.

"This has been devastating for us as a family and we do not know how we will be able to rebuild our lives.

"It is times like this that community spirit comes to the top and the people of Highfields did not let the family down."