World News joined 0012

[John]

Officers investigating a fire at the home of a millionaire and his family - who are all missing - are searching through the wrecked building.

Osbaston House, an isolated property near Maesbrook, Shropshire, was set alight in the early hours of Tuesday.

Christopher Foster, 50, his wife Jillian, 49, and daughter Kirstie, 15, have not been seen since. It is not known if they were in the house.

Police in overalls entered through an annexe to the gutted home.

'Cursory search'

Supt Gary Higgins said: "Officers have completed a search of the outbuildings and are now in the process of removing vehicles from the site.

"We have completed a cursory search of the annexe part of the main building which is relatively intact following the fire.

"Forensic specialists will begin the lengthy, painstaking process of sifting and examining all the contents. There is extensive debris at the site and it will take some days, possibly several weeks, to complete this part of the investigation.

"We will be seeking to build up a picture of the circumstances leading up to the fire."

Police said "every possible scenario for what happened" was being considered and officers were following up all possible lines of inquiry.

West Mercia Police have said they think the fire was started deliberately.

Supt Higgins said: "This is being treated as arson and, until we can determine whether the family was inside, it will remain arson."

Dogs' bodies

Three horses were found dead in a stable block, which was also gutted in the fire.

Supt Higgins said police were waiting for the results of post-mortem examinations carried out on the horses. He said the bodies of three dogs were found close to the horses.

A large horse box, parked close to the gates of the property, has been removed from the site for forensic examination, he added.

CCTV cameras from the property have been taken away and officers have warned that forensic searches will be painstaking and likely to take some time.

The fire in the house, thought to be valued at £1.2m, broke out at about 0500 BST on Tuesday
The day before the family had attended a barbecue at a friend's house.

Mr Foster is listed as the director of Ulva Limited - a thermal insulation manufacturing company in Telford - with Mrs Foster named as company secretary.

The firm went into administration in August last year and a court order was issued in November for the company to be wound up.

A judge later found Mr Foster had spent the previous months stripping Ulva of its assets and transferring them to a new firm he had set up called Ulva International.

Mr Foster was also the alleged victim of a blackmail - but two men were cleared of attempting to blackmail him into giving them £100,000 at Shrewsbury Crown Court in November 2006.

Kirstie Foster is a year 10 pupil at Ellesmere College, an independent school in Ellesmere, Shropshire.

Headteacher Brendan Wignall said: "Kirstie is a charming, popular and hard-working girl with many friends, all of whom are hoping she will be found safe and well."

-BBC News

[JohnCenaFan28]

Thanks for this.