Three arrested on suspicion of murder over Derby house fire

Three men arrested on suspicion of murder after a fatal flat fire killed a mother, her baby and a family friend in Derbyshire, were known to at least one of the victims, ITV News understands.

The arrests come after neighbours reported disturbances in the street the day before the blaze which killed Amy Smith, 17, her six-month-old daughter Ruby-Grace Gaunt, and Edward Green, also 17, in Langley Mill.

Police have confirmed a 17-year-old youth rescued from the blaze by neighbours, along with the baby's 18-year-old father Shaun Gaunt, was not among those arrested.

A 17-year-old youth from Long Eaton has been arrested on suspicion of murder along with a 43-year-old and a 21-year-old from Sandiacre. Two of the men are understood to be related to each other.

Police and fire crews are continuing to investigate whether the fire was started deliberately.

The grandfather of a 17-year-old girl who died in a flat fire with her baby daughter in Derbyshire has paid tribute to the "loveable children" as he laid flowers at the scene today.

Amy Smith and her six-month-old daughter Ruby-Grace Gaunt, died in the blaze at her home in Langley Mill along with family friend Edward Green, also 17.

Trevor Smith, who laid flowers at the scene along with his mother and Amy's great grandmother Jean, said: "We're going to miss them all. They were just loveable children.

"I've watched them all growing up and we're going to sadly miss all of them. We're just devastated."

Jean said baby Ruby had suffered from a hole in the heart.

She said: "I think she'd (Amy) be too frightened to jump because of the baby. If she'd have jumped and the baby had got hurt she'd never have forgiven herself."

Three men have been arrested on suspicion of murder after a mother, her baby daughter and a family friend died in a house fire in Derbyshire.

Amy Smith, 17, her six-month-old daughter Ruby-Grace Gaunt, and friend Edward Green, also 17, all died in the blaze at a flat in Langley Mil.

Derbyshire Police said three men - a 17-year-old from Long Eaton along with a 21-year-old and a 43-year-old from Sandiacre, are being questioned in custody after being arrested late last night on suspicion of murder.

Assistant Chief Constable Martyn Bates said: “The cause of the fire is still unknown and the possibility that it was started deliberately is just one of many lines of inquiry we are pursuing at this time.

“These arrests do not mark the end of the investigation, far from it. I would still urge anyone with information to come forward and speak to us.”

A teenager who escaped a house fire that claimed the lives of three youngsters, including a 17-year-old mum and her baby, tried to help his friends escape the blaze but was unable to get to them because of the smoke.

The unnamed teenager's father said: "He tried to get to Ed, who was his best friend, and to the girl and the little girl but the smoke was just too bad".

Police and fire crews are continuing to investigate the cause of the fire in Langley Mill, Derbyshire, which killed Amy Smith, 17, her six month old daughter Ruby Gaunt, and Ed Green, 17.

ITV News correspondent Ben Chapman reports on the latest developments:

Police have named a young mother who died alongside her baby daughter and a family friend in a house fire in Derbyshire.

Investigations are continuing into the cause of the blaze, which killed Amy Smith, 17 and her daughter six and a half month-old Ruby Gaunt, at their flat in Langley Mill.

Family friend Edward Green, 17, from Belper, also died in the fire.

The baby's father Shaun Grant is believed to be in hospital after being rescued from the blaze along with another man by neighbours.

Tributes have been paid to a young mother, her baby daughter and a family friend while police continue to investigate the cause of a house fire which claimed their lives.

The trio, named locally as Amy Smith, 17; her six month old daughter Ruby Gaunt, and friend Ed Green, died in the fire at a block of flats in Langley Mill, Derbyshire in the early hours of Sunday.

The baby's father Shaun Grant is believed to be in hospital after being rescued from the blaze.

Writing on a tribute site set up for the victims, friend Jodie Mee said: "Rest in peace girls and Ed, Heaven has gained two beautiful girls and a strong boy. Thoughts go out to their family and all the people who knew them.

"(They're) in a safe place now, Ruby will be in mummy's arms and Ed will be standing by them both. Fly high beautifuls, sleep tight."

Derbyshire Fire Service has released a statement on the Derbyshire house fire that killed three in the early hours of this morning.

The Derbyshire Fire Service reported the first call they received was to advise of a car on fire, and within minutes there was another call to say a house was on fire.

Police investigating a fire which killed three people in Derbyshire in the early hours of this morning are treating the blaze as an "unexplained" incident, a senior officer has said.

Chief Inspector Pete Szabo also told ITV News that it is too early to be able to identify the cause of the blaze.

More: Father 'threw son out of window on to mattress' to save him from blaze

Police and firefighters say they are treating a fire which killed three people in Langley Mill last night as 'unexplained.'

A neigbour of the the home which succumbed to a blaze in the early hours of this morning killing three said he saw a father throw his son out of a window to save him from the blaze.

Neighbour Paul Barber said: "We went around to the said of the property and see the people still trapped in the property. One of out neigbours actually threw his son out of the window on to a mattress to get him to safety and a couple of other people ran around to get some ladders, to put up to property for people to climb out of."