wfgodot
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Amazingly sad case. (And strange backstory.)
Sobbing father of 17 who lost SIX children in house fire talks for the first time about
inferno which police say was started by petrol being poured through the letterbox (Daily Mail)
Derby (Derbyshire, East Midlands) (Wiki)
Sobbing father of 17 who lost SIX children in house fire talks for the first time about
inferno which police say was started by petrol being poured through the letterbox (Daily Mail)
Personal grudge?A father broke down in tears today as he relived the moment six of his children died in a house fire as police revealed the callous arsonist ignited the blaze by pouring petrol through the letterbox.
Mick Philpott was in the family home in Allenton, Derby, when the fire broke out in the early hours of last Friday morning.
The father of 17 was woken up downstairs by a smoke alarm and made desperate attempts to rescue his children from the inferno.
However, five died of smoke inhalation at the scene and Mr Philpott and his wife Mairead made the agonising decision to turn off the life support machine of a sixth in hospital.
The dead children were all born to Mrs Philpott and were asleep when the fire tore through their three-bedroom semi-detached home.
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Lengthy article with many pictures at DM link above.Steve Cotterill, Assistant Chief Constable of Derbyshire Police, confirmed that the seat of the fire was below the letterbox in the front door of the the house.
Investigations had also shown petrol was used as an accelerant, he said.
Smoke from the fire travelled up the stairs of Mr Philpott's home while he and his wife were on the ground floor.
Mr Cotterill said one potential line of inquiry was a possible 'personal grudge' against Mr Philpott because of his 'celebrity status'.
The 55-year-old hit the headlines in 2006 when demanding a bigger council home for his family, before TV appearances with Ann Widdecombe and Jeremy Kyle.
The was dubbed 'Shameless Mick' in 2007 after reportedly demanding a larger council house.
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Derby (Derbyshire, East Midlands) (Wiki)