A MURDER probe has been launched after the bodies of a woman and her son were found at a family home.

Police and firefighters were called to Croxden Way in Eastbourne after the suspected arson in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

The bodies of a 34-year-old woman and a four-year-old boy who were previously unaccounted for were only found after midday today (Wednesday).

Relatives of the woman have been informed, but formal identification of the bodies has yet to take place, police say.

Meanwhile a 26-year-old man was left in an induced coma in hospital with burns and other injuries, and is understood to be the partner of the woman. He is not the father of the boy.

In a statement, police said: “This is a difficult scene and it will take some time before forensics examinations are complete.”

Pictures from the scene reveal a fire ripping through the family home, which burned through the roof and engulfed the property.

One onlooker said they saw the bathroom window shatter and flames burst through, setting fire to a nearby tree.

They said there was “nothing anyone could have done” to help, and described the fire as “horrendous and horrible”.

Firefighters battled the flames for hours, and were seen in talks with detectives to establish the cause of the fire.

A neighbour, who asked not to be named, said: “We were woken up by our neighbours at 12.50am.

“They were shouting ‘fire’ and saying ‘get the fire brigade’.

“I looked out of the window and saw flames coming out of the front door.

“It was like an inferno of flames coming out of the front door and window.

“The bathroom window exploded and that set the tree in front of the house on fire.

“Before you knew it, the roof was on fire. Then you could see the flames coming out of the back of the house.

“It was horrendous, horrible. We couldn’t get in but we didn’t hear or see anyone inside, we didn’t know there was anyone in there.

“It took a few hours to put the flames out. The stairs have gone inside the house and there is no first floor.

“Everyone here is a bit shocked that somebody could do that to a young family. It’s just horrendous.”