Boys aged two and three die in house fire in Huddersfield Published duration 21 February 2016

image caption The fire service was called to a semi-detached house on Alder Street, Fartown, on Saturday afternoon

Two boys aged two and three have died in a house fire in Huddersfield.

Firefighters were called to a property in Alder Street, Fartown, at about 14:00 GMT on Saturday.

They spoke to a woman and a child who said the boys were in an upstairs bedroom, West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said.

The boys, thought to be brothers, were taken from the bedroom but were later pronounced dead in hospital. Their next-of-kin have been informed.

Chris Kirby, group manager at West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, said firefighters were "very upset about the scenes that they had witnessed".

He said: "They very quickly sent two of their breathing apparatus-wearers inside the property, they extinguished the fire and performed a search of the property and recovered the two boys that were still inside.

"Our thoughts are with the family affected, clearly it's going to be devastating for them, the local community and there's also an impact on the crews who attended.

"I was speaking to some of them yesterday, they had got tears in their eyes."

image caption It's believed the fire spread rapidly upstairs in the property

West Yorkshire Police said the cause of the fire was not being treated as suspicious, but investigations were ongoing.

The fire is thought to have spread rapidly upstairs in the property. It is believed the house had no working smoke alarms.

Shaveta Sharma, a neighbour, said emergency services were "really doing their best" at the scene.

She said: "It's been absolutely awful, I couldn't sleep last night. It's so tragic, an awful experience."

Labour councillor Amanda Pinnock, of Kirklees Council, said: "Because of the area, everybody knows everybody.

"They will be shocked by what has happened."