Three men who were arrested following the Leicester explosion have today been charged with five counts of manslaughter and arson with intent to endanger life.

The trio will be held in custody during the weekend and will appear before Leicester magistrates on Monday.

They are:

Aram Kurd, 33, of Hillary Place, Braunstone, Leicester

Hawkar Hassan, 32, of Eld Road, Coventry, originally thought to be from East Anglia

Arkan Ali, 37, of Drake Close, Oldham

The three men were arrested on Wednesday in connection with the explosion at a building in Hinckley Road on Sunday.

Kurd is the owner of the shop which exploded and spoke with reporters after the blast.

Two other men who were arrested yesterday, both from East Anglia, remain in police custody and continue to be questioned by detectives.

A spokesperson for Leicestershire Police said: "Throughout this complex investigation we have been urging journalists and members of the public not to speculate about the cause of the explosion.

"With three people now charged and due in court, it becomes even more important, for legal reasons, that this message is heeded.

"A continuance of such ill-informed and speculative commentary threatens to jeopardise this investigation and serves only to cause further distress to the families of those killed and injured."

Latest explosion updates

The blast at 7pm last Sunday destroyed the Leicester shop and the flat above it.

Five people died in the explosion, which was followed by a huge blaze.

Two teenage brothers, Shane Ragoobeer, 18, and brother Sean, 17, who lived in the flat above the destroyed Zabka store in Hinckley Road with their parents and younger brother, both died in the tragedy .

Melton 18-year-old Leah Beth Reek, who was Shane's girlfriend, has also been confirmed as a victim.

Viktorija Ijevleva, 22, of Oldham, is also one of the deceased. She was believed to be working in the shop at the time of the blast.

The remaining missing person is Mary Ragoobeer, 46, Shane and Sean's mum.

She is believed to be the fifth fatality, but that is yet to be confirmed.