A mother and her two children have been killed in a blaze which destroyed their home on Boxing Day.
Emergency services were called to the “well-established” fire on Brimscombe Hill in Stroud, Gloucestershire, at about 03:00 GMT on Friday.
A seven-year-old girl, a four-year-old boy and their mother, aged in her 40s, were trapped inside the burning property. The body of the mother and a child were recovered on Sunday but formal identification is yet to take place.
The father was able to escape and was taken to hospital. Gloucestershire Constabulary confirmed on Monday he is a serving police officer with the force.
Police said they are still working to recover the body of the second child but the unstable condition of the property requires teams to proceed with caution.
They added that the fire began on the ground floor of the property and that there were not believed to be any suspicious circumstances surrounding the cause.
Det Supt Ian Fletcher described it as a “tragic incident”.
The mother and father were awoken at 03:00 GMT to the fire and attempted to reach the back bedroom where the children were sleeping.
The father managed to escape the property through the bathroom window before attempting to climb through the children’s bedroom window.
However, he was unable to do so due to the “ferocity and heat” of the blaze, Det Insp Fletcher added.
He then attempted to re-enter through the bathroom but the fire “had taken hold”.
