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NEW A 14-year-old girl - named locally as Demi Pearson (right) - was declared dead at the scene of the blaze in Salford (inset left and right). Her seven-year-old sister, named locally as Lacie Pearson (left) also died after the fire. Their mother has been named locally as Michelle Pearson and is currently in a serious condition in hospital (centre). She has not been told of her children's deaths. A three-year-old girl is also fighting for her life in hospital. The fire is being treated as suspicious and police have launched a murder probe.

Green Flag received 13,800 calls by midday today - more than three every minute and over double their usual number for a Monday at this time of year. Green Flag also got 49,800 calls over the previous three days as snow and wintry weather swept across Britain, causing chaos on road and rail networks. Following a chaotic 'Black Monday' that saw even more snow paralyse parts of the country, Britain is bracing for its coldest night in nearly seven years as temperatures are expected to fall to -15C (5F). Much of the country has been crippled in the past days, following the first serious snowfall of winter - with more than 2,000 schools closed and at least 4,500 homes remaining without power today.

South Western Railways says its entire network has been disrupted due to a track-side fire, causing major disruption to journeys from Waterloo Station.The rail firm has confirmed that services could be delayed for up to 60 minutes or revised, and are advising passengers no to travel on its services. The fire affected the track circuits on three of the lines, causing three platforms to be taken out of use. The blaze led to a large build-up of trains in the area, with some passengers sitting on stationary trains for more than an hour.

In Wales (pictured today) around 500 schools are closed, 400 will not open today in Birmingham and approximately 300 are shut in both Staffordshire and Gloucestershire. Critics branded the closures 'ridiculous' and said headteachers were 'too quick' to close their doors to pupils in bad weather. Many parents have expressed their disbelief because their local schools have been closed because of snow - even though they haven't got any. Howard Webster wrote: 'I can't ever remember a time when my school was closed because of the weather: We're breeding a generation of wimps governed by a generation scared s***less by health and safety legislation'. Frank Crisp tweeted: 'Staggered to see local schools closed because of snow just seen the woman across the road who is in her 80s walking back from the paper shop and kids can't even walk to school'.

Theresa May (pictured left welcoming Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov to No 10 today) has made a grand overture to urge EU nationals living in Britain not leave after Brexit by telling them directly 'I want you to stay'. The PM scrambled to try to win over Europeans who have moved  to the UK by sayings he understands their 'underlying anxiety' at their future when we quit the bloc. She said she is 'delighted' to have come back from Brussels with a pledge to guarantee the rights of EU nationals living in Britain. In an open letter (right) to EU nationals, she said she was 'proud' they had chosen to live in the UK.

A Welshman who flew to the Dominican Republic to live with his internet girlfriend is now stranded in the country after she rejected him because he 'doesn't have any money'. Struggling mum-of-four Wilfa Soto Peguero claimed she agreed to get to know balding Brit Glyn Thomas Bailey in person after he offered to help her raise her children. But she claimed when she went to pick up at the Caribbean airport, he had no return ticket and no money. He became a celebrity on the island when she made a video and posted it to social media, begging someone to take Mr Bailey off her hands because she couldn't afford to feed him.

Self-described feminist Meghan Markle, 36, wore the saucy ensemble while working as  'Briefcase Babe' on the US TV show Deal or No Deal back in 2006. Working on the series saw Meghan wearing a whole host of risque outfits. Another episode sees the future royal pose in a blue satin mini dress while in another she wears a black satin catsuit. Meghan joined NBC's Deal or No Deal in 2006, in which contestants choose from sealed briefcases that contained a marker for various amounts of money.

Wu Yongning, 26, filmed himself doing pull-ups at the top of the Huayuan International Centre in Changsha, China, when he lost his grip and fell 45ft to his death on a terrace below. Uncle Feng Shengliang said Wu was planning to propose to his girlfriend two days after this video was filmed, and was going to offer her a bridal gift of £8,000. He was due to earn around £11,000 from the footage. Wu died on November 8, but the tragedy was only made public on December 8 when his family confirmed it.

Georgia 'Toff' Toffolo shared a triumphant photo of herself eating three plates of food in bed on Monday after she was crowned the winner of I'm A Celebrity in Australia. And the Made In Chelsea beauty, 23, looked content as she swapped her hammock and jungle gear for a luxury bed at five star Palazzo Versace Hotel and her silk PJs. Still sporting her crown of flowers, she ate breakfast like a king for the first time in three weeks after her grueling stint in the jungle saw her survive on a slimming diet mainly made up of beans and rice. 

From boasting about their criminal past (bottom centre) to scrawling in pen across the page (top centre), these job-seekers struggled to understand even the most basic rules of putting together a CV. One childish applicant added a picture of a monkey to his resume (top left) while another features a bizarre portrait (bottom left). Some kept information to a minimum on their applications (top right). Meanwhile one callous person tried to use an employee's death to their advantage (bottom right).

Holly Willoughby, 36, (inset) enjoyed some quality time with her children (main) while the UK was covered in snow on Sunday, but when the This Morning presenter shared a sweet snap of her little ones in her back garden, her followers spotted something very strange lurking in the background (top right).

A beaming President Vladimir Putin shook the hand of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad before declaring that their military alliance had been a victory for the Syrian regime. Speaking during a visit to a Russian military airbase near Latakia, northeast Syria, Putin announced that he has ordered a pullout of 'a significant part' of Russian forces from Syria after helping Assad defeat the 'most battle-ready group of international terrorists,' apparently referring to ISIS. Putin and Assad watched a parade by Russian troops and met with air force pilots (bottom right) before a sit-down meeting (top right) during the Russian president's flying visit.

US-based YouTuber Ryan, whose last name and location haven't been made public to protect his privacy, has come in eight position in Forbes' ranking of this year's 10 highest-paid YouTubers across the world. The little boy has gained a whopping 10 million subscribers on his channel, Ryan ToysReview, since he got his start on the platform two years ago. With $11 million to his name, Ryan surpassed his fellow YouTube sensation Lilly Singh, who follows him closely with $10.5 million worth of revenue. Ryan also tied with the comedy channel Smosh, originally started by Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox, who stopped their partnership in June this year.

EXCLUSIVE: Sixties poster girl Marianne Faithfull (top right today), 70, opened the doors to her stylish apartment in Montparnasse, Paris, for a new interview. The singer's walls are adorned in striking works of art while half of her bed is covered in books (top left). Tucked away in the bathroom is a photo of her and Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger (inset bottom together in 1969) and on a side table sits a hand-written note from Keith Richards (bottom left). The profile gives a remarkable insight into the former wild child's new life in her adopted home, France, where she lives alone and takes daily walks around Paris with the help of a cane.

Several celebrities have come out in support of a young Tennessee boy pleading to be left alone by bullies. Keaton Jones (left), of Knoxville, asked his mother, Kimberly Jones, to record a video of him asking why bullies at school were bothering him. In the clip he explains through tears that bullies make fun of him because of his nose, call him ugly and have even poured milk on him. Celebrities among the likes of (clockwise from top left) Hailee Steinfeld, Mark Ruffalo, Mark Hamill, Cardi B, Kevin Jonas, Chris Evans, and Demi Lovato have all shown their support and have even offered to take Keaton on trips and to premieres.

Three people have been hurt after a house was blown to pieces by an early morning gas explosion that was so fierce it also damaged six neighbouring properties. An elderly man was dramatically pulled alive from the rubble (shown top and left) by rescuers, while the bedroom of a house next door was ripped away by the blast, injuring the couple living there (pictured before the blast, right). Jeanette Jasper, 79, is said to be in a serious condition in a major trauma centre in Coventry after she was crushed by a wall as she lay in her bed. Her husband John, 80, who was in the kitchen at the time of the explosion, has also been hospitalised. Pictures from the site, in the Birstall area of Leicester, reveal debris strewn across the street, windows blown out and door frames hanging off their hinges.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan, 43, stripped down to his shorts to show how the strict 12-week diet and exercise plan helped him swap his 'dad bod' (left and second from right) for a toned midriff (second from left and right). The father-of-three said he wanted to get in shape ahead of the start of The Ashes last month, and that he felt he is 'pretty much set to get the Speedos out on the beach in Bondi.' He had to give up beer and chips but said the sacrifice didn't impact his social life.

Stunning photos show indigenous Kamaiurá people diving underwater and swimming beneath a waterfall in the Amazonian basin in a remote part of Brazil. The Kamaiurá, whose name means 'a raised platform to keep meat, pots and pans', were first contacted by the outside world in 1884. Its population was ravaged by disease in the 1950s but the region was declared a national park by the Brazilian authorities in 1961 to prevent the spread of deadly epidemics.

This fiendishly hard word puzzle contains 15 images that represent words or phrases, and some are so difficult they're bound to leave you scratching your head. From a metal bed frame festooned with flowers (top left), to a piece of furniture carved out of a vegetable (top centre), you may just be kicking yourself when you find out the answers to these play on words.

Georgia Thomson, 27, from Cardiff, who has type 1 diabetes, started misusing her insulin because she was worried the 'pure fat' injections were leading her to put on weight. During her battle with the eating disorder (left and inset), known as diabulimia, Georgia constantly felt sick and on one occasion ended up in a coma due to complications. She has since turned her life around and now keeps fit and healthy through yoga and weightlifting (pictured centre and right today).

The 2.7-acre Tavern Island in Norwalk, Connecticut, which was first inhabited by European settlers in 1651, is just an hour from New York City. Just a five-minute boat ride from the mainland, the showpiece of the property is the 6,000-square-foot stone manor, which is accompanied by a one-bedroom boat house; a tea house; a two-bedroom caretaker's cottage; and a maintenance shed. The property also boasts two private beaches and a 75-foot-long swimming pool.

People from around the world took to Reddit to share photos of the very worst roommate behaviour, including unwanted pranks (top right), passive aggressive notes (bottom left) and a kitchen sink left piled high with dirty dishes (bottom right). One disappointed diner shared a photo of a partially-eaten pizza (top centre) while another flatmate was disgusted to find a box filled with urine on their fridge shelf (top left).

It was the lift of the series, a show-stopping display of strength and balance that laughed in the face of gravity. However, Joe McFadden and his partner Katya Jones' move didn't quite come off for the fans that tried it at home. (Pictured left and inset: Strictly fans attempt to master the daring move pulled off by Joe and Katya (Right) on Strictly during Saturday night's semi-final)

An Australian mother-of-two has been left red-faced after spotting a very embarrassing mistake in her children's Santa photo. Tammie Hopley, 29, paid $35 for a selection of meet and greet photos of her children Ryder, two and Ledger, 10 months. But it wasn't until the next day when she realised the photos she had purchased weren't quite as innocent as they appeared. So can you spot the mistake?

In the early 1970s intricate model villages were a staple of many seaside towns up and down the country, with more than 60 attracting tourists from around the world. The decline of the domestic holiday resorts led to a vast number of them to close down in the 1980s and 90s since they were no longer profitable. The origins of the model village can be traced back to 7th century Japan when the Empress Suiko had a garden built with an artificial mountain depicting Mount Sumeru, the centre of the world in Hindu and Buddhist legends. The first recorded model village in Britain was in Hampstead, north London, at the private home of Charles Paget Wade. Keeping the tradition alive in Britain today is the iconic Bekonscot in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, Babbacombe Model Village in Torquay and Legoland in Windsor.

The bad Santa was filmed berating the terrified child during a visit in a village in the northern Romanian county of Bistrita-Nasaud. Santa was in fact the boy's 40-year-old uncle and had been asked by the boy's mother to give him a telling off. She said she'd never hit him but she wanted to 'teach him some discipline'.

During winter some people lose their cool over blocked roads and cancelled trains. But others embrace the seasonal weather with impressive winter wit. Specifically, people have been producing very creative - and hilarious - snowmen, with everything from superheroes and celebrities to the occasional letterbox. Here, we reveal some of the very best.

Footage shows brave amputee Jay Fein hopping into position at a weightlifting competition in Austin, Texas. After taking a few deep breaths, Fein stoops down and lifts the 275lb barbell clean off the ground. Incredibly, he manages to maintain his balance on the single leg, before throwing the weight down and shouting 'Yeah!'

The world is one huge, must-see place. Breaking it down into manageable priorities can be tricky and even the most seasoned tourist can find decision-making overwhelming. Fortunately for us, the experts at National Geographic Traveler have created a bucket list for 2018, including Hawaii (main), Albania (bottom left) and Jordan (top right).