Girl, 7, and aunt killed in Middlesbrough house fire linked to A66 crash

Valentine Foster, 7, and her aunt Natalie McDonald, 34, died in a Grangetown house fire. Two men have been arrested on suspicion of murder.

Seven-year-old and aunt named as victims of fatal Grangetown blaze

Valentine Foster, aged seven, and her aunt Natalie McDonald, 34, have been named and pictured for the first time as the victims of a house fire in Grangetown, near Middlesbrough, that emergency services attended at 5:23am on Wednesday. The blaze is feared to be a gangland revenge attack connected to a fatal road collision on the A66 less than a mile away, according to Daily Express.

Cleveland Police confirmed two people died in the fire, "including one child". A 48-year-old woman remains in a critical condition at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, while three further individuals sustained injuries not believed to be life-threatening.

Two men, aged 23 and 31, have been arrested on suspicion of murder and remain in police custody.

Lisa Kirton, Natalie McDonald's mother, told The Times her daughter was a "beautiful, bubbly person who everyone knew" and described Valentine as a "very cute girl".

Superintendent Emily Harrison said officers are working to establish the exact circumstances of the fire. "We are keeping an open mind and cannot rule out any links to wider organised crime at this time," she said. Harrison added that a high-visibility police presence would be maintained in the Grangetown area and urged anyone with information to speak to officers or call 101.

Police have not ruled out a connection between the fire and a serious incident on the A66 on Saturday morning, in which two police officers and five young men were killed. A VW Passat, evading police and travelling in the wrong direction on the dual carriageway, collided with a marked armed response vehicle.

Seventeen people were arrested in connection with that crash; two have since been charged, with the remainder bailed as part of investigations into alleged organised crime.

Source: Daily Express