Father arrested over fire deaths

A man has been arrested on suspicion of the murder of three members of his own family in a house fire in Manchester.

Carly Swift, 19, died soon after the blaze swept through the family's townhouse in Ashton Old Road, Openshaw, in the early hours of Thursday.

Her brother, Jordan Swift, 14, and step-brother John Hargreaves, aged eight, died a few hours later.

Sources have told the BBC that the 37-year-old man arrested by police is Kevin Hargreaves, John's father.

Mr Hargreaves, step-father to Ms Swift and her brother, suffered burns in the blaze and remains in hospital.

He has been arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder and will be taken into custody when he is discharged from hospital.

Smoke alarm

Investigations into the cause of the blaze which ripped through the top two floors of the three-storey building are continuing.

Specialist fire investigators were working with police scientists to sift through the scene on Friday.

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service said the cause of the fire had yet to be established.

Investigations are likely to continue at the scene for a number of days, he added.

The recently-built property was fitted with a smoke detector and part of the investigation will focus on whether it was working.

Three adults and nine children were in the house when the fire broke out at about 0500 BST on Thursday.

Police said all three adults and six of the children were taken to hospital suffering burns and the effects of smoke inhalation.

Neighbours who described the scene said smoke and flames were "billowing" from the windows as the children's mother was seen screaming and crying for help in the street.

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