AN inquest opened this week into the tragic deaths of three young children in an horrific blaze at a Blackpool home last week.

Blackpool coroner Samuel Lee opened an inquest on Tuesday into the deaths of Gage, 8, Arnie, 5, and Callum Lumb, 4, who died in the fire at their Boothroyden home, North Shore, in the early hours of June 13.

Det Supt Michael Arnold told the inquest that the house was well alight when firefighters arrived at around 4.30am.

"Fortunately the mother, father and four children had managed to escape with the help of neighbours but sadly the three other children died during the course of the fire and their bodies were recovered by the fire and rescue service."

Post mortem examinations were carried out on the three children by a Home Office pathologist and officers were awaiting the results of tests carried out.

And he added that police were still making inquiries and working with fire officers and forensic scientists to try to establish the cause of the blaze.

Mr Lee adjourned the inquest pending the results of further inquiries. He said the thoughts of many people were with the family.

"This is a tragedy which has touched everybody in this area and the grief of the parents must be immeasurable," he said.

A grandparent was initially thought to be trapped in the building with the family as 15 firefighters tackled the blaze at the end terrace home just behind the resort's Hilton Hotel.

Ernest Lumb, 34, and his 33-year-old wife Paula escaped the blaze with four of their children, Ryan Lee, 15, Kylie Roff, 13, six-year-old Shannon Jacqueline and Colt, understood to be a toddler. but Gage, Arnie and Callum were pronounced dead on arrival at Blackpool Victoria Hospital.

Peter Holland, chief fire officer for Lancashire, said firefighters found flames coming out of the window of the ground floor and within minutes the fire had spread to the bedrooms upstairs.

"Three people were rescued by neighbours who did an absolutely brilliant job and saved their lives," he said.

The dead boys were found in a bedroom upstairs, he said. He added that preliminary investigations showed that the fire started in the lounge downstairs in some furniture. "It spread very rapidly and it was an extremely fierce fire.

"We do not think that there was a smoke alarm in the house. If there had been it could have saved more lives," he said.