Community ‘really sombre’ after two children pronounced dead, neighbour says

The local community is “really sombre” after two children died at a house in Stafford, a neighbour who came to lay flowers at the scene has said.

Two-year-old Meraj Ul Zahra and three-year-old Abdul Momin Alfaateh were pronounced dead at a house in Corporation Street after Staffordshire Police were called at around 7.30am on Sunday.

A 43-year-old woman from the Stafford area was arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with their deaths and is in police custody.

Corporation Street is cordoned off with police guarding each end of the road and traffic diverted.

A bunch of flowers had been left near the police tape at both ends of Corporation Street overnight, while father-of-two Ben Lowe, who lives nearby, visited the scene to add two more bouquets on Monday morning.

Speaking to the PA news agency, Mr Lowe said: “It’s sad, it’s just really sad. I live 10 to 15 doors away, I’ve got two children myself.

“There’s a lot of children round here, it’s a very family-orientated area. I can’t say that I know them, I probably would by sight rather than by name.

“It’s a friendly area, everyone says hello and I just felt it was important to mark a bit of respect for these kids.

“I don’t know what’s happened, but at the end of the day, two children have died and I think they should be respected.”

Asked how the community was feeling in the wake of the incident, Mr Lowe added: “It’s quite sombre, everyone is really sombre.

“People are carrying on, doing their thing, taking their kids to school and whatnot, but there is a very melancholy atmosphere.

“It is really sad and not something you would expect to happen anywhere really, let alone somewhere where everyone is bringing families up.”

In a statement on her Facebook page on Sunday, MP for Stafford Leigh Ingham said the incident was “absolutely heartbreaking news in our community”.

She added: “My heart goes out to the family affected in this case.

“Thank you as always to our tireless emergency services, who I know will be working incredibly hard to gather all the facts.

“At times like this, I would ask that everyone is careful to avoid speculation online.”

Anyone with any information that could help the investigation is asked to contact police on 101, or through the live chat facility on the website, quoting incident number 147 of October 12.

To report information anonymously, Crimestoppers can be contacted on 0800 555 111.