Two arrested over hotel death blaze

The men, aged 44 and 21, were arrested on suspicion of murder and have been taken to police stations in Cornwall where they will be interviewed by members of the investigation team.

Last summer the blaze at the Penhallow Hotel in Newquay claimed the lives of Joan Harper, 80, Peter Hughes, 43, and his mother Monica, 86.

Around 90 people escaped from the fire, which police described as the worst the county had seen in 30 years, as it ripped through the building in the early hours of Saturday, August 18.

Mr Hughes, from Cheslyn Hay, Staffordshire, was forced to jump from the third floor of the hotel after trying to save his mother.

Pat Albutt, sister of Peter Hughes and daughter of Monica Hughes, paid tribute to them, saying the family was very close.

"It says all that you need to know about Peter that he died trying to save our mum from the fire," she said. "Losing my mum and Peter feels like the heart has been ripped out of our family."

Ms Harper, from Stoke-on-Trent, was described by her sister, Marjorie Brys, as her "best friend".

Mrs Brys escaped from the hotel and said it was "dreadful" trying to come to terms with losing her sister in a fire she herself had survived.

"To lose her so tragically has been a terrible blow," she said. "I have simply lost my other half."