Christmas tree blaze kills boy, 9

A mother was said to be inconsolable after her nine-year-old son died in a fire which was apparently sparked by their Christmas tree.

Sheree McGill, 34, escaped, then tried to return to her house to rescue Evan and her other children but was held back by neighbours. Her daughters Yasmin, four, and Nya, three, were rescued by firefighters and taken to hospital, where they were in a stable condition last night.

Fire crews were called to the terraced property in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, at about 3.20am yesterday. They rescued the children after fighting through "intense heat and thick acrid smoke" to reach them. Evan died later at Crosshouse Hospital, Kilmarnock.