A TRAGIC search is underway for the body of a second child who died in a Boxing Day Fire alongside their mum and sibling.
– known as Nu – and her two young children, aged four and seven, tragically died after they were trapped inside the burning property on Boxing Day.
The dad Tom – a serving police officer – managed to escape before heartbreakingly trying to break back into the house in a bid to save his familyCredit: Instagram
Nu, who is in her 30s, remained trapped inside with daughter Eve, seven, and son Ohner, fourCredit: Instagram
PC Tom Shearman once featured in a BBC programme, Reported MissingCredit: BBC
Emergency services scrambled to the scene as the blaze consumed the Cotswold stone cottage in Stroud, , at about 3am on Friday.
Dad Tom Shearman – a serving officer – managed to escape before heartbreakingly trying to get back into the in a bid to save his family.
The Gloucestershire police officer was dragged away from the blaze as he desperately tried to run into the inferno.
But fashion designer Nu, 38, remained trapped inside with daughter Eve, seven, and son Ohner, four, as tragedy struck over the Christmas period.
The mother’s body was recovered on Sunday and one child’s body has been found, but the other is still missing, police said at a press conference on Monday.
However, formal identification is yet to take place.
The search is now ongoing for the body of the second child following the heartbreaking tragedy.
Det Supt Ian Fletcher said: “We did recover the body of an adult female, which we believe to be the wife of the family.
“Late yesterday afternoon we found the body of a child which is still in situ. We have been unable to recover it at this time. We are still looking for the second child. I can confirm the children are [a] seven-year-old girl and a four-year-old boy.
He added: “We have multiple witnesses who describe the anguish that [Pc Shearman] was going through, his inability to get in and save his children and save his wife.
“He is, as you can imagine, in a very distraught way. [He] sadly, lost his family at a time which is supposed to be a happy festive period.”
PC Tom Shearman once featured in a BBC programme, Reported Missing, it has now emerged.
In the show he helped track down a man with dementia who was lost in the countryside, it emerged.
It is understood he battled through fire and smoke to try to rescue his wife and children, and had to be dragged away by neighbours who feared he too would die in the inferno.
The bodies of the children have sadly not yet been removed from the house as the property is too unstable.
The fire is believed to have started on the ground floor.
It woke up the parents in the early hours of the morning and they frantically tried to reach the back bedroom where the children were sleeping.
The dad – who serves with Gloucestershire Police – is understood to have escaped the fire by “smashing” a bathroom window as the
He then desperately fought to reach the children by climbing back in through their bedroom window.
But he was beaten back by the “ferocity and heat” of the raging blaze, Detective Inspector Ian Fletcher said.
In another frantic attempt, he tried to re-enter through the bathroom, but by then the fire had “taken hold” and the house was lost to the flames.
In a final attempt he tried to force his way in through the front and back doors – by this point firefighters had arrived on the scene.
The mum is thought to have become trapped in the house.
Emergency services at the scene in Brimscombe Hill after the tragic fireCredit: PA
The cause of the fire is not yet known, but is not believed to be suspiciousCredit: PA
Mum Nu tried to rescue her childrenCredit: Facebook
The extent of the fire has caused the roof of the mid-terrace cottage to fall in, and the ceilings and stairs have collapsed.
A neighbour told The Sun: “It was an absolute inferno. I was woken at about two in the morning by a huge bang. I looked out of the window and could see their house completely on fire.
“When I went outside there were already lots of people out in the street and the emergency services had been alerted.”
The neighbour spoke of the dad’s desperate attempt to rescue his family.
“The dad, Tom, had somehow escaped from the fire and was desperately trying to get back in to rescue his wife and their children.
“He kept trying to get through the front door, despite flames spewing out of it.
“People were grabbing hold of him and pulling him back because if he had got inside, he would have been dead too.
“He was yelling and screaming and trying to break free from the people holding him, but they just wouldn’t let him go.
“Flames were pouring out of the roof, the windows and the front door at this stage. It was uncontrollable.
“I feel so sorry for all of them. His wife was a wonderful woman and the children were little beauties. God bless them all.“
The Gloucestershire Police Federation said: “This is an unimaginable tragedy to have struck a colleague and their family and our hearts are broken for them.
“The Federation are offering as much support as is possible to our colleague at this deeply saddening time.
“We know the whole Police family across the UK – indeed the whole of the UK – will be offering their condolences.”
Councillor Chloe Turner from Stroud District Council, Deputy Chief Fire Officer Nathaniel Hooton and Detective Superintendent Ian Fletcher during a press conferenceCredit: PA
Firefighters at the scene after the horror infernoCredit: PA
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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