Girl recovers after fatal fire

A chip pan is thought to be to blame

A four-year-old girl is recovering after her brother was killed in a house fire in Cwmbran in south Wales.

Sophie and William Johnson, five, were trapped upstairs when their home in the Fairwater area of the town was engulfed in flames late on Thursday.

William died at the Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport.

His four-year-old sister Sophie is in a "poorly but improving" condition in the intensive care unit of the hospital suffering from the effects of smoke inhalation.

Their parents Dan and Sally Johnson had been downstairs cooking a meal after a night out to celebrate Sally coming home from hospital.

Engulfed

But the fire started in the kitchen after the couple fell asleep on the settee.

The pair escaped from the burning house through a patio door -- and were beaten back by the heat as they tried to reach the children.

Thirty-year-old Mrs Johnson was heard screaming "My babies, save my babies" as their end-of-terrace house was engulfed in flames.

Gwent Police said the fire appeared to have been a tragic accident and is thought to have been started by a chip pan fire.

Flames

Neighbours said the house was engulfed in flames within seconds of the blaze starting at about 2300 BST on Thursday.

The headteacher of Coed Eva Infants School, where William was a pupil, said prayers were said for the family on Friday.

Head teacher Sandra Martin said: "The news of the death of William Johnson and the injury to his little sister has come as a great shock to the whole school and everyone connected with Coed Eva Infant School.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the whole family and particularly for Sophie's recovery."