This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/shropshire/7587074.stm
The article has changed 22 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Police hope to enter arson house | |
| (about 8 hours later) | |
| Officers investigating a fire at the home of a millionaire and his family - who are all missing - hope to be able to search the gutted building later. | |
| Osbaston House, an isolated property near Measbrook, Shropshire, was set alight in the early hours of Tuesday. | Osbaston House, an isolated property near Measbrook, Shropshire, was set alight in the early hours of Tuesday. |
| Christopher Foster, 50, his wife Jillian, 49, and daughter Kirstie, 15, have not been seen since. It is not known if they were in the building. | |
| The emergency services have so far considered the ruins unsafe to enter. | |
| West Mercia Police have said they think the fire was started deliberately. | |
| Supt Gary Higgins said: "This is being treated as arson and, until we can determine whether the family was inside, it will remain arson." | |
| Painstaking searches | |
| Three horses were found dead in a stable block, which were also gutted in the fire. Two dogs are missing and various outbuildings were also destroyed. | Three horses were found dead in a stable block, which were also gutted in the fire. Two dogs are missing and various outbuildings were also destroyed. |
| CCTV cameras from the property have been taken away and officers have warned that forensic searches will be painstaking and likely to take some time. | CCTV cameras from the property have been taken away and officers have warned that forensic searches will be painstaking and likely to take some time. |
| The fire in the house, thought to be valued at £1.2m, broke out at about 0500 BST on Tuesday.This picture of the Fosters was taken at a friend's house on Monday | |
| The day before the family had attended a barbecue at a friend's house. | |
| Mr Foster is listed as the director of Ulva Limited - a thermal insulation manufacturing company in Telford - with Mrs Foster named as company secretary. | Mr Foster is listed as the director of Ulva Limited - a thermal insulation manufacturing company in Telford - with Mrs Foster named as company secretary. |
| The firm went into administration in August last year and a court order was issued in November for the company to be wound up. | The firm went into administration in August last year and a court order was issued in November for the company to be wound up. |
| A judge later found Mr Foster had spent the previous months stripping Ulva of its assets and transferring them to a new firm he had set up called Ulva International. | |
| In May Lord Justice Rimer, in the Court of Appeal, said Mr Foster had transferred all Ulva's raw materials, goods, plant, equipment, customers, employees and intellectual property to his new company. | |
| Mr Foster was also the alleged victim of a blackmail - but two men were cleared of attempting to blackmail him into giving them £100,000 at Shrewsbury Crown Court in November 2006. | Mr Foster was also the alleged victim of a blackmail - but two men were cleared of attempting to blackmail him into giving them £100,000 at Shrewsbury Crown Court in November 2006. |
| Kirstie Foster is a year 10 pupil at Ellesmere College, an independent school in Ellesmere, Shropshire. | Kirstie Foster is a year 10 pupil at Ellesmere College, an independent school in Ellesmere, Shropshire. |
| Headteacher Brendan Wignall said: "Kirstie is a charming, popular and hard working girl with many friends, all of whom are hoping she will be found safe and well." | Headteacher Brendan Wignall said: "Kirstie is a charming, popular and hard working girl with many friends, all of whom are hoping she will be found safe and well." |
| Advertisement | Advertisement |
| Aerial footage of Shropshire mansion following fire | Aerial footage of Shropshire mansion following fire |