A mother and her two young children who perished in a devastating house fire on Boxing Day have been named.
Fionnghuala Shearman, known to friends as Nu, died alongside her seven-year-old daughter Eve and four-year-old son Ohner when the blaze engulfed their mid-terrace Cotswold stone cottage on Brimscombe Hill in Stroud, Gloucestershire, around 3am on 26 December.
Mrs Shearman, a fashion designer who ran the bespoke handbag business Hide & Hammer, and the children were unable to escape the intense fire, which started on the ground floor.
Her husband, Tom Shearman, a serving officer with Gloucestershire Constabulary, escaped the property and made desperate attempts to re-enter the building to rescue his family. He smashed through a bathroom window in an effort to reach the children’s bedroom from outside but was prevented by the ferocity of the flames.
The bodies of the two children and the family dog were recovered on Tuesday, following the recovery of Mrs Shearman’s body on Sunday.
Police have confirmed there are no suspicious circumstances, describing the incident as a tragic accident.
The fire completely destroyed the home, causing the roof and stairs to collapse, while leaving neighbouring properties untouched.
According to the BBC, Interim Chief Constable Maggie Blyth said: “This is an unimaginable tragedy and my thoughts are with our colleague, along with all of those involved and impacted by what has happened”.
“I and all of the organisation will continue to support our officer and his family over what continues to be a very, very difficult period at a very, very difficult time of the year. We’re in very close contact with him.”
Ms Blyth also praised the public’s response, adding: “I particularly wanted to thank our communities in Gloucestershire that have shown me and my officers and staff huge compassion and huge kindness over the past few days.
“That kindness and compassion from the public has really enabled our workforce to keep delivering a service over this Christmas and New Year period – at a time when such an awful tragedy has sent shockwaves through the organisation.”
In the wake of the tragedy, the local community has shown overwhelming support for Mr Shearman. A GoFundMe fundraiser launched to assist him has raised over £125,000 from thousands of donors.
Holy Trinity Church in Brimscombe has remained open for people to gather and grieve, with Rev Peter Francis noting the importance of the community coming together during this “terrible tragedy”.
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