Family's dogs die in arson attack

Daify was asleep in the garage below nine-year-old Rio's bedroom

A family say they are devastated after their two dogs died in an arson attack at their West Midlands home.

The fire started in the garage of their semi-detached house in The Greenway, Sutton Coldfield, at about 0455 GMT on New Year's Day, where the dogs slept.

The family escaped but Daify, a golden retriever, and Ginnie, a Cavalier King Charles spaniel, were trapped inside.

Fire crews tried to resuscitate the dogs but they both died. West Midlands Police is investigating the arson.

Officers said an accelerant was used to set fire to the garage, where the dog baskets were kept and children's bicycles received as Christmas presents had been stored.

The fire was beneath the bedroom where nine-year-old Rio Foster was sleeping.

'Terrifying ordeal'

His sister Helen, 13, mother Cheryl and father Michael, a West Midlands Ambulance Service driver, had only recently returned from a New Year's Eve party at a relative's home.

Mrs Foster, a hairdresser in Sutton Coldfield, said: "It was a terrifying ordeal. I don't know what woke me but I noticed a bright light outside and thought it was a police car. Then I realised the garage was on fire and called 999.

Fire crews tried to resuscitate Ginnie with an oxygen mask but she died

"My husband went downstairs to investigate and was stopped by thick black smoke pouring out of the garage and the kitchen. There was no way he could rescue the dogs.

"I just panicked and got the children out. Rio's bedroom was directly above the fire. Luckily it hadn't spread to the hall. I put some wet towels down and we all managed to escape."

Mrs Foster said: "We are all devastated, especially Rio who has grown up with Daify his whole life, they were the same age."

The family have been living in a hotel since the fire and were told it could be May before they could be able to move back home.

Pc David Bodenham, of Sutton Coldfield CID, said it was a "very serious and malicious attack".