BRITAIN: A murder inquiry was under way last night after a mother and her four daughters were found dead in their beds following a fire at their home.
Caneze Riaz (39) and her daughters, Sayrah (16), Sophia (15), Alicia (10) and three-year-old Hannah, were all killed in the blaze in the early hours of yesterday in Accrington, Lancashire, in Britain.
Detectives said it was a "top line of inquiry" to speak to Mrs Riaz's husband Mohammed (49), who was pulled to safety by firefighters from the house.
The children, described by neighbours as "little angels", had been enjoying a Halloween night party just hours before the fire.
Mrs Riaz had earlier visited her son, Adam (17), who is in the Christie Hospital, Manchester, being treated for leukaemia. Police have broken the news that his mother and sisters are dead.
Mrs Riaz was described today as a very active and popular woman. Neighbours said her husband was more reserved. He works at a local plastics firm but rarely went out of the house.
Det Supt Mick Gradwell said Mr Riaz is in a critical condition in Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester, with officers ready to question him when he is well enough. A substance had been used to start several separate fires within the family home, Det Supt Gradwell added.
"Already it's clear there were several seats of fire at the house and accelerants have been used," he said.
"The cause of the fire is therefore deliberate. The house was secured and locked from the inside.
"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.
"However, I can't discount that a scene has been staged to suggest this." He said it was a "top line of inquiry" to speak to Mr Riaz and added: "The indications are at the moment it is contained within that family. It is a murder inquiry because the fire was set deliberately with accelerants used.
"This is a deliberate fire and there is no evidence that anybody left that house." Post mortem examinations will be carried out later today to establish the exact cause of death of the victims.
The alarm was raised at around 2am by neighbours and passersby and firefighters were at the scene within minutes. All the victims were found dead in their beds and Mohammed Riaz was pulled to safety and resuscitated. Police said the local community was "staggered" by the deaths.
Mrs Riaz, who had English and Pakistani parents, was described as a "pillar of the community" and one of the best-known Asian women in the town. She provided a link in helping build bridges between both communities, working on various voluntary bodies and in schools and mosques.
Mrs Riaz also worked as an interpreter, was a school governor and a diversity adviser to her local football club, Accrington Stanley. Saeeda Farook, a friend and neighbour of the family, said Mrs Riaz was, "beautiful and lovely".
"All the daughters were like little angels - they were beautiful. She was looking after them so well, you just can't believe what happened."
Munsif Dad, from the Hyndburn Cultural Association, where Mrs Riaz worked as a senior community worker, said: "Caneze was a beacon for building good relations between people of different backgrounds.
"She was in a unique position to do this, as Caneze, although Muslim came from a mixed English and Pakistani background and was, therefore, well placed to understand the concerns and feelings of everyone.
"Her enthusiasm for life will be sorely missed by all." He said she was a "warm, kind and sincere person".
Maryam Jahanzeb, a friend of the family, had visited the house last night. She said: "We were laughing and joking, a bit of a Halloween party. The little girl had vampire teeth in. They were a very, very loving family, and we loved them to bits."
Family friend Ghazala Ahmed said: "She was a bit down about her son's illness - but she never showed it.
"I asked her that day at Eid and she said 'I'm absolutely fine'. She said Adam was getting better. She never showed that she was sad about it. She was really brave about it - you would never see her cry."