A 23-year-old man, named as Jaden Wright, has been charged with two counts of murder after a house fire in Grangetown, Middlesbrough killed seven-year-old Valentina Foster and her aunt, Natalie McDonald, 34. The blaze broke out just after 5am on Wednesday and also left four other people injured, two of whom remain in hospital. He has also been charged with two counts of section 18 grievous bodily harm with intent and two counts of attempted section 18 GBH with intent, and is due before Teesside Magistrates' Court.

A 31-year-old man arrested in connection with the case was released without charge on Sunday. Cleveland Police has confirmed the fire is not linked to a separate fatal collision on the A66 that killed seven people, including two police officers, though officers had initially not ruled out a connection to wider gang violence in Teesside. Separately, armed police raided two homes in Grangetown on Monday, arresting two men, aged 19 and 24, on suspicion of firearms offences amid escalating violence linked to a reported gang turf dispute. Valentina's family and local residents held a balloon release on Monday evening in her memory.