British police have arrested a man in his 30s in connection with an explosion at a house in Staffordshire in which three children and an adult died.
Bags of evidence are carried away after the suspicious explosion. Pic: Reuters/Tony Spencer
Emergency services were called to the house in Cheddleton, near Leek, Staffordshire, at around 11.45pm last night and found that the roof had been blown off and the back of the building was destroyed.
Officers discovered the bodies of a man and three children inside.
Neighbours named the dead man as Roderick Hine, from Hillside Road, Cheddleton, near Leek. He was living at the house with his partner, Amanda Carter, and her three children.
Police said a man had been arrested at around 9am in connection with the investigation.
Residents in six neighbouring properties who were evacuated were later allowed back into their homes.
A force spokeswoman said all four bodies remained inside the property as the structure was still deemed unsafe.