Pair held over children's deaths

Updated 23.23 Sat May 31 2008
Keywords: stab, Carshalton, Surrey

Two children are dead and one seriously injured after a stabbing at a house in south London.

A 39-year-old man and a 35-year-old woman, who are believed to be their parents, are under arrest.

A five-year-old boy and four-year-old girl died from their injuries, and a six-month old baby girl is seriously ill in hospital

A five-year-old boy and four-year-old girl died from their injuries, and a six-month old baby girl is seriously ill in hospital.

One neighbour described a "horrific" scene late last night as paramedics tried to revive a "limp little body".

She saw "a tiny bundle" carried out of the detached house in Park Lane, Carshalton, a south London suburb, just after 10.30pm on Friday.

"It was obviously a child," she said. "It's horrific for something like this to happen here."

The two-bedroom property was taped off as officers carried out an examination of the scene.

Neighbours said the couple were thought to be from the Tamil areas of Sri Lanka and had moved in to the area within the last year.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said: "Police and London Ambulance attended, and found three children suffering serious injuries, believed to be stab wounds.

"We believe we know the identity of the deceased, however we await formal identification and confirmation that all family members have been informed."

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