Father and son killed and daughter badly hurt in caravan blaze

Officers were called to the Sunny Sands caravan park in Talybont, near Barmouth, Gwynedd, after a caravan was engulfed in flames.

A grandmother and granddaughter were airlifted to hospital.

A North Wales Police spokeswoman said: "A 58-year-old man and his 26-year-old son have died in a caravan fire. His 50-year-old wife and two-year-old granddaughter were rescued from the fire."

Police said the girl suffered severe burns while her grandmother escaped with "superficial burns" to her forearm. They were rescued by fellow caravaners before the fire service arrived in the early hours of yesterday morning.

The family, who have not yet been named, are from the Flint area of North Wales and were "regulars" at the caravan site.

The coastal caravan park, set in Snowdonia National Park, has been owned and operated by the same family since it opened in 1963. Jeremy Mead, director of the site, said they were working with the police to try to find out how the fire started. He said: "My brother lives on the park and he heard what he thought was a firework going off at about 1.45am. The next minute there was a mass of smoke and that was it."

Ian Williams, 31, from Wrexham, who was holidaying with his wife and two-year-old daughter, said he had spoken to the family in the club the previous night and watched as the 26-year-old victim took to the stage to sing.

"They were in the club singing and dancing. All four of them were on the stage," he said.