Little Lever: Mum and two children found dead in house

A mother in her 20s and her two young daughters have been found dead at a house in Bolton.

Police found the bodies of Tiffany Stevens and Casey, aged three, and one-year-old Darcey, at Arthur Street in Little Lever at 15:50 GMT on Monday.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said it was an "incredibly tragic incident", but it was not looking for anyone else in connection with the deaths.

Neighbour Annmarie Crossland, 36, said Ms Stevens was a "brilliant mum".

She added: "They were gorgeous little kids. Great, really nice. She would take them to the park and into Bolton. They were very friendly."

Ms Crossland said she was first alerted something was wrong when Ms Stevens's brother and ex-boyfriend were heard "screaming and shouting" in the alleyway at the back of the house before another neighbour rang 999 on Monday afternoon.

She said: "Paramedics arrived first and shot off down the back, then another came and then just all police covered the whole street."

Paul Nash, who lives on the same street, said neighbours were in shock.

"You can't believe what's happened," he said.

Betty Bray added: "It's awful. They'd only just started growing up so it does upset you."

What is thought to have been a gas engineer was seen at the mid-terrace house earlier, but police told the BBC there is no evidence of carbon monoxide at the house.

Supt Rick Jackson said: "This is an incredibly tragic incident and we have specialist officers supporting the family at this unimaginably difficult time.

"Our officers will be continuing with inquiries at the scene over the coming days and we are keeping an open mind as to what happened."