Boy, 8, dies after house blaze

An eight-year-old boy has died after a house fire.

Emergency services were called to the property on Platt Avenue, Sandbach, Cheshire, at 2.52am on Sunday where they found a woman outside the semi-detached house with serious burns.

The 35-year-old, believed to be the boy's mother, was taken to Leighton Hospital, Crewe, where she remains in a stable condition.

But the boy, who was rescued from the upstairs of the property, died at 5am despite the efforts of paramedics.

Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service said four crews were sent to the property and extinguished the fire. An investigation is now underway.

A spokesman for Cheshire Constabulary said: "Our thoughts at the current time are with the family of the boy and we request for their privacy to be respected at this difficult time.

"The cause of the fire, which has since been extinguished, is currently unknown and a full investigation has been launched.

"Anyone with any information in relation to the incident is asked to contact Cheshire Police on 101 quoting incident number 215 of 30/10/2016."