Mum and two kids, seven and four, die in Boxing Day house fire

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Emergency services were called to the fire at around 3am on Boxing Day (Picture: Daniel Jae Webb / State Six News)

Three people are missing after a major fire destroyed a home in Gloucestershire in the early hours of Boxing Day. Emergency services were called to a property in Brimscombe Hill, Stroud, at around 3am this morning (Friday). One person managed to flee the blaze and has been taken to hospital, while three others remain unaccounted for this afternoon. A spokesperson for Gloucestershire Police said: ???Officers attended the scene along with crews from Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service and the ambulance service. ???One person, who was able to get out of the property, was taken to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital to be treated. ???Three other people, who were believed to have been inside the property, have not yet been accounted for and efforts to locate them are ongoing. ???Road closures are currently in place on Brimscombe Hill while emergency services remain at the scene and people are being asked to avoid the area. ???An investigation is ongoing to establish the cause of the fire.??? Licensed for non-exclusive editorial web and broadcast use. (Reach and Newsquest locals / regionals excluded.) Rates per use: images ??50 or ??120 per set of three ??? video ??150 set ??? ??50 words. Credit must read "State Six News" - not abbreviated (applies to images and video only). This licence is not a transfer of copyright. — Emergency services were called to the fire at around 3am on Boxing Day (Picture: Daniel Jae Webb / State Six News)

A mother and her two children have been killed in a fire that destroyed their home on Boxing Day.

Emergency services were called to the fire on Brimscombe Hill in Stroud, Gloucestershire, at around 3am on Friday.

A seven-year-old girl, a four-year-old boy, and their mother, aged in her 40s, were trapped in the burning building.

On Sunday, the body of the mother and a child were recovered but formal identification is yet to take place.

The father, confirmed to be a serving police officer by Gloucestershire Constabulary, was able to escape the fire and was taken to hospital.

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The bodies of the mother and one of the children have been recovered so far (Picture: Daniel Jae Webb / State Six News)

Police said they are still working to recover the second child’s body, but the property’s unstable condition means officers have to proceed with caution.

The fire began on the ground floor of the house, and there are no suspicious circumstances surrounding its cause.

Local MPs and councillors previously described the fire as a ‘tragedy’ for the local community.

On Sunday, a young girl died in another house fire in a Kent village.

Firefighters attended the fire at a semi-detached home in Hamstreet near Ashford just after midday on Sunday.

Despite neighbours rushing into the burning house to save her, the young girl died, while another child, believed to be a teenage boy, remains in hospital after being rescued.

The house’s ground floor windows had been completely blown out and left charred by the fire, while Santa and Rudolph sleigh decorations lay deflated in the front garden.

An investigation into the cause of the fire is currently ongoing.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.

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