Pregnant mother killed after blaze engulfs her home

By ANNA ROBERTS and BEN CLERKIN

Last updated at 23:43 31 December 2007

A pregnant mother died in a fire at her home as her partner battled to save her but was beaten back by smoke and flames.

Charlene Henry, 25, who was seven months pregnant, was trapped upstairs as the fire engulfed her house Monday morning.

Her three children - a five-year-old boy, a three-year-old girl and an 18-month-old boy - and her partner, Daniel Mileham, all managed to escape.

But when Mr Mileham realised she had not made it out he, together with another local man, attempted to reach her.

He managed to climb to the top of the stairs but the smoke and the heat were too intense and he was forced to flee out of the backdoor.

Mr Mileham and the children were being comforted by relatives.

Miss Henry's distraught mother, Audrey Batchelor, 47, who lives a few doors along from her, told how she watched her daughter's body being taken out of the £180,000 three-bedroom end of terrace house in Edenbridge, near Tonbridge, Kent.

Through tears she said: 'It took such a long time to get her body out of the building.

"She was a wonderful girl," she said. "She was a lovely daughter, a brilliant daughter."

"She helped with a lot of kids' clubs and did the old people's bingo for them. She did a lot of voluntary work."

Mrs Batchelor was yesterday joined in her family home - still displaying Christmas decorations and birthday cards from her son Kelvin's 16th on Boxing Day - by relatives and friends. She was also visited by members of local churches to offer their condolences.

Her aunt Margaret Griggs, 75, said the family were "devastated" after her death in the blaze.

"She was a lovely girl, such a very likeable person, who was always laughing and so warm and funny,' she said.

"I saw her only last week. She told me she had had a lovely Christmas and the kids were all happy and well. Charlene was her usual happy self.

"I spoke to Charlene's brother Kelvin. He said the fire brigade were investigating what started the fire.

"I was shocked when he told me Charlene had died. It's very sad and the whole family is devastated. We're a very large family so there are a lot of very upset people."

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Mrs Henry, who did not work, was involved with helping at the town's Jelly Babies playgroup.

One neighbour, 68-year-old Betty Southern, said: 'It is so tragic because she was pregnant and she had three young children.

"We only knew them to say hello. They were always happy and the kids had a big smile on their faces.

"They have a small dog which was barking in the back garden when the firemen were there."

Another neighbour told of the attempts to rescue Charlene.

Neighbour Betty Southern, 68, said: "Another man who lived round the corner tried to help the husband rescue Charlene but they were beaten back by the flames and smoke.

"They tried their best to get to her but there was nothing they could do. The fire had engulfed the house really quickly and it was too ferocious and hot.

"One of the men said he managed to get upstairs but it was too much for him and he was forced out back out of the house."

A spokesman for Kent Police said: "A family of five, two adults and three children, were in the house when the fire started.

"The father and three children were able to leave the house. However, the mother suffered fatal injuries despite efforts made by her partner to reach her."

The road was closed for a few hours while a team of fire experts investigated the cause of the blaze.

A spokesman for Kent Fire and Rescue Service said: "Emergency services were called at 9.11am.

"Five appliances attended the incident and crews wearing breathing apparatus went into the building - one of three terraced houses - to bring the fire under control. The fire was extinguished by 9.35am.

"The cause of the fire is not yet known but fire investigations teams are already assisting the police at the scene to determine the cause.'