Neighbour found guilty of murdering mother and two children in Nottingham flat fire

Jamie Barrow admitted starting the fire which killed Fatimah Drammeh, three, and Naeemah Drammeh, one, as well as their mother Fatoumatta Hydara, 28, but denied murder by claiming that he was unaware they were home at the time. However prosecutors told Nottingham Crown Court he would have known they were inside because a pram had been left outside the front door and light was coming from the hallway of the first-floor flat.

The family of his victims said Barrow had been "utterly heartless and cruel", causing "a multigenerational trauma that we will never understand". In a statement following the verdict on Tuesday, they added: "Words cannot quantify how much our family has suffered because of the horrific actions of one man. Neither can we quantify the emotional, psychological, physiological and financial impact of the crime Jamie Barrow committed".

Jamie Barrow, 31, lived in the neighbouring flat in Fairisle Close, and had previously pleaded guilty in April to the manslaughter of the trio in November last year. The two young girls were pronounced dead at hospital shortly after the blaze broke out at around 3am, while their mother died two days later in hospital from smoke inhalation.

Barrow admitted he drank "seven or eight" cans of San Miguel lager before the attack, and started the fire after pouring petrol through the flat’s letterbox. Prosecutors said Barrow had a "grievance" over rubbish being left in an alleyway and added he "did nothing to help" those trapped inside and ignored their screams.

Barrow will now be sentenced on Friday.