Lancashire detectives said on Thursday that 39-year-old Caneze Riaz and the four girls, Hannah, Alicia, Sophia and Sayrah, aged between three and 16, died from smoke inhalation when their house in Accrington, northwest England, was deliberately set ablaze.

The mother and her daughters were already dead in bed when firefighters broke into the house in the early hours of Wednesday.

The father, Mohammad, 49, is in a critical condition in hospital.

A fifth child in the family, 17-year-old Adam who is being treated from leukaemia, was in hospital at the time of the fire. He has been informed of the tragedy.

A spokesman for Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service described the fire as "very severe", and said that firefighters were prevented from entering the house through the main door because there were several major locks on it.

"It took a little while to break in and gain access," he said, adding that the fire "was one of the worst I have seen in terms of damage."

A police spokesman confirmed that the house was locked up from the inside when the fire started, adding that forensic examinations showed that flammable materials were used in a number of places.

"Early indications are that whoever set the fire, and carried out some other suspicious activity I can't go into at this stage, did not leave the premises," said Detective Superintendent Mick Gradwell, who's heading the murder inquiry.

The mother, Caneze Riaz, who was born to English and Pakistani parents, was described by a neighbor as a "pillar of the community" where she worked as an interpreter for local Pakistanis, was a school governor, and served as a diversity adviser to her local football club.

Source: Islamonline Network