Child stabbings: Woman detained

The woman, believed to be the children's mother, has been in hospital since the incident at a house in Carshalton, south-east London on Friday but will now be transferred to a secure mental health unit, police said.

During the attack a five-year-old boy and his four-year-old sister received stab wounds, and later died. A six-month-old girl remains in hospital in a "critical but stable" condition.

Earlier, a man being questioned in relation to the incident was released. The 39-year-old, believed to be the children's father, will face no further action in relation to the deaths, police said.

He has been bailed to return to a police station at a later date in relation to another matter, details of which police would not release.

Officers were initially called to the house at 10.30pm on Friday night.

The two older children were taken to hospital but both died within 90 minutes of the police call. The girl died at 11.41pm and the boy 15 minutes later.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said they believed the attack to be a "domestic incident".Post-mortem examinations on the two victims are expected to be carried out early next week.

The £300,000 two-bedroom property in Park Lane was taped off as officers carried out an examination of the scene.

Neighbours said the couple who lived there were thought to be from the Tamil areas of Sri Lanka and had moved to the suburb in the last year.