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Demolition work starting on Stafford fire tragedy house

A home where four young children died in a fire is being torn down.

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Scaffolding has been removed from the house which is due to be demolished

Workers have moved on site to demolish the house in Sycamore Lane, Stafford, where Riley Holt, aged eight, Keegan Unitt, six, Tilly Rose Unitt, four, and three-year-old Olly Unitt lost their lives.

The children’s mother Natalie Unitt and her partner Chris Moulton escaped the fierce blaze alongside their two-year-old son Jack in February this year.

The house in the Highfields area is deemed to be unsafe following an assessment by a structural engineer.

The home, timber fence and a nearby tree will all be cleared and replaced with grassland.

A memorial service for the children was held in St Mary's Church

The boundary wall with the neighbouring home will also be torn down, alongside part of the roof of the neighbouring home as well.

Karen Armitage, chief executive of Stafford and Rural Homes (SARH), said “SARH has considered very seriously the decision to demolish 2 Sycamore Lane following the tragedy.

"The company is considering plans to provide a much-needed dwelling.

"Family members have been consulted throughout and key stakeholders are being kept up to date with our plans.

"We are fully supportive of others in the community who are already discussing plans to provide a fitting memorial in the area.”

The house will be cleared in the coming days

The community in Highfield was rocked by the deaths of the four young children in the tragic blaze.

Memorial services were held around the town as Stafford pulled together to support the family, while more than £30,000 was raised for them.

The money is being put in a trust for young Jack.

Four months on from the tragedy, investigations into the cause of the blaze are ongoing.

Rumours of a cannabis fire and a boiler defect were quickly ruled out by police.

A 25-year-old woman and a 29-year-old man were arrested on suspicion of manslaughter by gross negligence three days after the fire but were released under investigation.

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