Tributes paid to mum, girl and man killed in fire

Tributes have been released to a mother and daughter and a young man who died in a house fire.

Mayci Fox, who was four years old, was described as a "free-spirited, fearless and loving little girl".

She was killed in the blaze in Rushton, Northamptonshire, along with her mother Emma Conn, 30, who was remembered as "the most incredible, wonderful mum".

Former football club director Lee Thorn said his son, Louie, 23, was "the angel on my shoulder".

The blaze took hold on Friday night in a Grade II listed property, which had been the railway station for Glendon and Rushton before it was converted into a house.

The mother and daughter who died were from Desborough, while Mr Thorn was from Rushton.

Mayci Fox's father, Kyle, paid his tribute, saying: "Becoming her dad was amazing. The feeling when I first saw her was so special, and I have adored her from the very start.

"She loved being outside and getting dirty, always enjoying her forest school sessions at nursery and loved nothing more than sitting in a muddy puddle to play.

"She had her own little motorbike that she loved riding, she was fearless. She once crashed and fell off and I remember running over so scared that she was hurt, only to find her laughing and asking if she could do it again."

Emma Conn's family said she "was the most incredible, wonderful mum, who was fiercely loyal and very protective of all those she loved, especially her family.

"Emma was a very successful businesswoman. She owned The Lash Lounge & Beauty salon in Desborough, which she made sure was open to everyone."

The BBC understands Mr Thorn's father, Lee, was a former director of Kettering Town and Nuneaton Borough football clubs.

He said his son "will always be the angel on my shoulder and whenever I think about him he will always be there with me".

He added that he and Louie, who had two younger brothers, went to football matches across the country.

Lee said: "I ended up buying two football clubs and this was purely because of him. He used to train with the team when we had the football club and he even played on the pitch at both Wembley and Anfield."

Louie Thorn's mother Tiffany described him as "the purest of souls, the purest of humans, and just the most beautiful soul. I genuinely believe he was too precious for this world and that's why God took him so young."

The families have also issued a statement through Northamptonshire Police about online fundraising pages.

The statement said: "We can confirm that we have not and will not be setting up any fundraising pages in memory of Emma, Mayci or Louie.

"Any pages showing their photos and/or names are going against our express wishes.

"We really appreciate that people would want to donate or offer help, but we do not want anyone to send money in good faith to a fundraiser we are not involved in."

Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.