Hamstead house fire: Children named as brother and sister Published duration 29 October 2016

image copyright West Midlands Police image caption Saros and Leanor Endris died following a house fire on Friday

Two children who died after a "suspicious" house fire were brother and sister, police have said.

The pair - discovered at a property in Hamstead near Birmingham on Friday - have been named as Saros Endris, eight, and his sister Leanor Endris, six.

A post-mortem examination has been carried out but further tests are needed to establish the cause of death.

A man believed by police to be the siblings' father was found with serious injuries in a car about 40 miles away.

media caption Children die after Birmingham fire: Neighbour speaks of scream

He remains in a critical condition after his rescue from the fire-damaged vehicle in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, on Friday.

Police said they were not looking for anyone else in connection with the deaths of the children.

Firefighters were called to the property at 03:40 BST on Friday and tackled what they described as a small fire in the hallway.

image copyright West Midlands Police image caption A man thought to be the siblings' father was found in a fire-damaged car

Despite attempts by crews to resuscitate the children - said by residents to have been carried out of the Holland Road home by a neighbour and laid on the lawn - they could not not be saved.

The children's mother, named by police as Penil Teklehaimamot, 36, was uninjured.

She is being treated as a witness.

Det Insp Justin Spanner of West Midlands Police said the events were "an absolutely tragic set of circumstances" and investigations into "what happened and why" were at an early stage.

Related Topics Newcastle under Lyme