Child dead before blaze started

post-mortem examination on a six-year-old boy found dead in a burning house has revealed he was dead before the fire started.

The cause of Charlie-Bob Townsend's death has not been determined and the results may take some weeks, an Avon and Somerset Police spokesman said.

His father, Christopher, 51, was found hanged in a garage by fire crews.

Flowers and tributes have been left outside their home in Weston Road, Long Ashton, North Somerset.

An Avon and Somerset spokeswoman said: "Over the weekend there are going to be more searches of the house, although the forensic examination is drawing to a close.

We do not have a formal cause of death for Charlie-Bob Townsend and we are appealing for anyone with information to come forward."

Floral tributes to Charlie-Bob, who has a 12-year-old brother, have piled up outside the house.

Friends of Mr Townsend, a freelance set designer for the Bristol-based BBC drama Casualty, said that he had lost a court custody battle with his former wife, Paula, 48, just hours before the incident.

People living in the village near Bristol said Mr Townsend had split from Paula, who lives with their other son nearby, within the last year.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bristol/7368288.stm