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| Mother's anguish over fatal car fire The mother of two young children who died in a burning car in Berkshire has spoken about her grief. Shannon, aged three, and her 14-month-old brother Ciaran, died when the Vauxhall Cavalier burst into flames on a housing estate in Reading. The children's parents, 20-year-olds Sulie Averiss and Damien Moore, had parked the car at a house in Colmworth Close shortly after 1800 GMT on Thursday. When the car caught fire they rushed out and pulled the children from the flames but their attempts to resuscitate them failed. Miss Averiss said: "I said to my kids I would be two minutes. "I put the seatbelts on and locked the door. "They waved at me. I went to the toilet. I came down and the car was full of smoke. "Me and Damien had to pull our children out of the car and resuscitate them, but it was too late. They were well-loved children. "The message is never, ever leave your kids in the car. "Cherish what you've got because you never know what you've got 'til they've gone." Police and fire investigators are trying to establish the cause of the tragedy, but say there may have been a fire in the engine compartment of the car. Police also confirmed that they were investigating reports of alleged drug dealing at the property. A spokesman said: "We are aware of reports that neighbours had put in calls to Crimestoppers about activities at the address. "Police are investigating all possibilities." Miss Averis said she had gone to the house to pick up some money she had earned on her first day of work cleaning the property. Firefighters managed to revive the children briefly with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and cardiopulmonary resuscitation, Berkshire Fire Brigade said. But they both died shortly after arriving at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading. Witnesses said they heard screams and then realised the children were trapped inside the car. Neighbour, David Missen, 32, a plumber, watched the car as it went up in flames unaware the children were trapped. "I just looked out of the window and saw the car. It was completely engulfed in flames. The flames were extremely high. "I can't understand why the children were left in the car. I feel awful for their parents." The fire from the vehicle blackened the driveway and scorched bushes and grass outside the mid-terrace townhouse. Bouquets of flowers have been left outside the house as a tribute to the children. Mother-of-three, Shan Chowdhary, who lives close-by, left flowers saying: "I heard about this and feel terrible for the children. I just wanted to leave some flowers in their memory." At a news conference, Detective Sergeant Steve Morrison, of Thames Valley Police, said: "Investigations have so far revealed that the car caught fire at the front. "The most likely source being in the engine compartment." 1st February 2002 |
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