Chief Inspector Vicks Hayward-Melen said: “We’ve been humbled by the community response to this tragedy. At a time of great sadness and disbelief, we’ve seen spontaneous acts of care and support. Within hours of the incident occurring, a local church was opened up for people to gather and mourn.

Three children – aged seven, three and 10 months, who have not been named by detectives – were found inside the property and pronounced dead at the scene just after 12.40pm on Sunday.

Ahmed Abdelaal, another family friend, said: “We are all shocked. We don’t know why this has happened or what has happened.

“She was an amazing mum, we don’t know what led to this incident.”

The community has been left in shock over the incident.