The grief-stricken mother of two boys killed in a horror house fire today paid tribute to her ”little angels”.
Tragic McKenzie Whitton, seven, and his younger brother Charlie, aged five, died after fire ripped through their terraced property.
Four other family members managed to scramble from the fume-filled house as the fire took hold at 6:30am, but the two boys became trapped and perished.
The family, who have been staying in a hotel since the fire on Saturday morning, returned yesterday to Bradley Stoke, Bristol, for the first time to pay their respects to the dead brothers.
Speaking outside the gutted home today, the boy’s devastated mother Alex Whitton thanked locals for their kind support during the awful ordeal.
She said: ”I’m very grateful and thankful for the support we’ve received during this awful tragedy.
”It doesn’t matter what anyone can say or do, no one can bring my little angels back. It’s a tragic situation.”
”Our thanks go out to the neighbours that helped and the fire service officers who risked their own lives to try and save our children.”
Firefighters were called to the family’s home in Merryweather Close at 6.30am on Saturday morning to tackle the fierce fire.
Four family members named as mum Alex, dad Lee, baby Jak and their son Thomas, nine, escaped from the blaze before fire crews arrived.
Matthew Whitton, 18, who was away for the night, returned home the morning of the fire to find the house in ruins.
Witnesses claimed family members were forced to leap from a first-floor window to escape the blaze.
Neighbours attempted to pull the young boys from the flames – but they could not be saved.
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IT IS SAD TO HEAR ABOUT THIS. MY FRIEND FROM SCHOOL LIVES NEAR THERE AND HE SAID I WAS IN SHOCK WHEN I HEARD THE NEWS ON SATURDAY ME AND MY FAMILY GOT DRESSED AND WENT ROUND TO THE HOUSE TO SEE IF EVERYONE WAS OK. ONE MAN SAID TO ME WE ARE ALL IN SHOCK EVEN THOUGH WE DID NOT KNOW THE PEOPLE. WHEN WE ALL HEARD THE NEWS THAT 2 BOYS AGED 7 AND 5 WE WERE ALL UPSET AND THE DAD SAID THEY WILL BE DEEPLY MISSED AND THEY WILL BE IN OUR HEARTS.