Man held after two children murdered

A man was being held by police today on suspicion of murdering two young children.

Officers attended an address in Bodelwyddan, North Wales, at 11pm yesterday and found the bodies of a five-year-old girl and three-year-old boy.

The children were taken to nearby Glan Clwyd Hospital where they were pronounced dead. A 35-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder.

A spokeswoman for North Wales Police said a post-mortem will take place today.

The murders took place at a property in Coronation Close, a street of houses built for Army personnel around the time of the First World War.

North Wales Police confirmed that the man was arrested at the house but a force spokeswoman refused to comment on whether he was related to the dead children.

A spokeswoman said: "The 35-year-old man was arrested at the house on Coronation Close.

"I can't comment at this stage on any possible relationship between the man and the children."

Reverend Berw Hughes, of St Margaret's Church in Bodelwyddan, said the close-knit village would be "hit hard" by the tragedy.

He said: "This is a very close-knit, community-oriented place.

"Of course, something like this would be difficult wherever it happened, but it will hit this community very hard because it is the sort of place where people still know and talk to each other.

"We will do all we can to help. I will offer my help, if they would like it."

Mr Hughes said the village, which has a population of around 2,000, is a popular place to live and continues to attract new properties.

Many people work at nearby Glan Clwyd Hospital or the Hotpoint factory.