A doctor is now facing life without his wife and all five of his children after his three-year-old daughter lost her fight for life following a devastating house fire.

Maheen Shakoor had been in a critical condition in the burns units at the Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford since being transferred there after the blaze in Harlow, Essex.

Her mother, Dr Sabah Usmani, brothers Sohaib, 11, Muneeb, 9, and Rayyan, six, and 12-year-old sister Hira died in their end-of-terrace house in Barn Mead in the early hours of Monday.

Her father Abdul Shakoor, also a doctor, suffered minor injuries as he fought to rescue his family from the blaze.

But a spokesman for the Princess Alexandra Hospital, where Dr Shakoor worked and where Maheen was initially taken, said the girl had also died.

He said: "On behalf of all our staff at Princess Alexandra Hospital, we extend our deepest sympathy to Dr Shakoor.

"All of us have been saddened by this tragedy and as a close-knit hospital community, many of us know Dr Shakoor and have been overwhelmed by what has happened."

Essex Police initially treated the blaze as a suspected arson attack but no trace of an accelerant used to spark the flames has so far been found.

Although officers are continuing to investigate all possibilities it is now thought "increasingly likely" the fire was a tragic accident.

The results of tests carried out at the scene were released showing that the fire started in the lounge at the rear of the property.