04/06/2007

Man and two children killed in fire

A man and two children have been killed in a house fire in Devon.

The blaze at the property in Gowmans Terrace in North Tawnton was reported after midnight and was eventually extinguished around 1:40am.

The victims have been named in reports as Iain Varma, 34, and his children Zak, eight, and four-year-old Chloe.

His wife, Alison Varma, who is a governor at the local school, was not in the house at the time of the blaze, nor was her two-year-old son Lee.

Police said that the fire and the deaths were being treated as suspicious.

A 59-year-old man from West Devon, believe to be the children's grandfather, was arrested in connection with the incidents shortly after the fire was extinguished, but he was later released without charge.

(KMcA/SP)

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