Mother arrested over fire deaths

The bodies of Lewis and Taylor Jenkins were found inside the house

A mother has been arrested in connection with a house fire that killed her two young sons.

Lewis Jenkins, aged seven, and his brother Taylor, five, died in the fire at a terraced house in Milfoil Drive, Eastbourne, East Sussex, on Saturday.

Sussex Police said a 29-year-old woman had been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and child neglect.

The woman has been named locally as Denise Goldsmith. She visited the scene on Sunday and wept as she laid flowers.

She did not comment on the deaths of the boys during the visit, and had to be restrained by her family from entering the house.

After the fire, Ms Goldsmith was taken to the town's district hospital where she was treated for minor burns and bruises.

Police began an investigation into the cause of the fire, but it was not being treated as arson.

'Inhaled fire fumes'

On Sunday, Ch Insp Dick Coates said initial indications were that the fire was a tragic accident.

He said officers would be at the scene for several days, and that police would later have a clearer idea how the fire had started.

Fire investigators from East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service have been working with detectives to uncover the circumstances that led to the boys' deaths.

Post-mortem examinations confirmed they died from inhaling fire fumes, officers revealed.

Flowers have been left outside the home of the boys, who were both pupils at nearby Shinewater Primary School.

A special assembly was held at the school on Monday.

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Forensic teams combed the scene as tributes were laid after the fire