THE Dorset mum of a girl who died in an arson attack which left three young people dead has paid tribute to the man who died trying to save her daughter.

Sarah Hutchinson, 37, from Piddlehinton, lost her 14-year-old daughter Laura Almond when a blaze swept through the bedsit where she was staying in Friarn Street, Bridgwater.

Laura, who used to live with her mother in Dorset, and her brother Marc were babysitting their eight-year-old niece Lily Almond-Burchell at their sister Lauren's bed-sit last Sunday, when the fire broke out in the early hours of the morning.

A nearby resident, James Pursey, smelled the smoke and went in to try to save them.

Mr Pursey, 25, was found dead at the scene with Lily, who had celebrated her eighth birthday the week before the tragedy, by his side. The little girl died later in hospital.

Mrs Hutchinson, who is in a wheelchair after being knocked down by a car as a teenager, said: "James Pursey died a hero.

"He went in to try to rescue them and died himself in the effort."

Laura died two days later and Marc, 17, was in intensive care at Plymouth Hospital for more than a week after the tragedy, suffering severe smoke inhalation.

Police are treating the incident as a triple murder and have assigned a team of 30 detectives to the case.

Mrs Hutchinson, who is married to Patrick, said: "We are both devastated.

"It's too soon to take it in at the moment - we have just been rushing from home to Plymouth Hospital and back all the time - there's been no time to really stop and let it hit us.

"Marc is out of intensive care now. He was on a special compression machine that they use for divers but he is talking in a whisper now."

She added: "The police aren't telling us anything at the moment, we just have to wait for someone to come forward with information.

"There has got to be someone who was around at that time of the morning in a place as busy as Bridgwater - maybe people were coming home from the nightclubs about that time.

"We so want to get people to come in with information so that we can draw a line under this as soon as possible."

Two men were questioned by police following the fire, but were released without charge.

Avon and Somerset Police said today that "a number of useful leads" had emerged after they called at nearly 400 homes in the area and they are now appealing for a mystery cyclist seen on CCTV cycling away from the scene to come forward.