Two people released after death of children

A MAN and a woman who were arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with the deaths of five children in a house fire were released without charge last night.

The 28-year-old woman and 38-year-old man, both from Derby, were arrested by officers investigating the deaths of ten-year-old Jade Philpott and her siblings John, nine, Jack, seven, Jessie, six, and five-year-old Jayden.

The children died after a fire ripped through their home in Victory Road, Allenton, Derby, in the early hours of Friday.

Their 13-year-old brother Duwayne, who was also in the house at the time of the blaze, remains in a critical condition in hospital in Birmingham.

Assistant Chief Constable Steve Cotterill said: “This is a complex inquiry which requires careful and methodical investigation.

“We are still treating the fire as suspicious and are pursuing a number of lines of inquiry.”

The children’s father, Mick Philpott, who was dubbed “Shameless Mick” in 2007 for his benefit claims and refusal to get a job in a television documentary by former Conservative MP Ann Widdecombe, made a “valiant” attempt to save them, police said.

Said to be the father of 17 children, Philpott hit the headlines after demanding a larger house to share with his wife Mairead, girlfriend Lisa and eight offspring.

The children were asleep in their beds upstairs in the house when the fire broke out at the pebble-dashed semi-detached home in the early hours.