Two arrested over 2023 house fire death

Two people have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter over the death of a teenage girl in a house fire two years ago.

Leah Casson, 18, died in the blaze at the property in Vicarage Street, North Shields, on 16 January 2023.

In November 2023, three people were arrested on suspicion of manslaughter, including a woman in her 40s and two men aged between 35 and 40.

Northumbria Police said the woman, who was previously released under investigation, had been rearrested alongside a man in his late teens.

The two men arrested in 2023 faced no further action, the force said.

Since their arrests, the woman and the teenager have been released on police bail.

Det Insp Mark Atherton said police continued to look into the circumstances surrounding "Leah's tragic death".

"The investigation into the cause of the fire is complex in nature – and two years on we remain committed to establishing what happened," he said.

He said the force was looking into a number of leads "which led us to making the arrests we have this week".

He called on the public to contact the force if it had any information which might be helpful to their investigation.

At the time of the teenager's death, her parents described her as an "outgoing and bubbly" daughter and said she was "loved so much".

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