Murder squad detectives were today given extra time to question a man over a house fire which killed a mother and her teenage daughter.

Mother of four Sally-Anne Baxter-Smith, 38, and Lois Baxter-Smith, 14, died in hospital after being pulled unconscious from their home by firefighters.

Lois's 12-year-old sister and a nine-year-old boy who was staying the night managed to jump to safety from an upstairs window as the blaze ripped through the terraced house in Beach Road, Eastbourne, during the early hours of Saturday.

Both escaped with minor injuries and were released from Eastbourne District General Hospital after being treated for smoke inhalation.

They are being comforted by relatives.

More than 20 firefighters tackled the blaze which started downstairs.

Neighbour Jane Grant, 50, said: "I was woken up by someone shouting in the street.

"Not long after, all the flashing lights and sirens were going off in the road. I looked out of the window and there were two fire engines."

Cheryle Crunden, 40, who grew up with Ms Baxter-Smith, said: "She was a really decent person. I went to school with her and she was at my 40th birthday party recently.

The cause of the fire is being investigated by fire brigade and police specialists. Officers have carried out house-to-house inquiries.

Forensic officers sifted through piles of ash under the cover of a tent in the front garden of the house.

An East Sussex Fire Brigade spokesman said a smoke alarm was found on the floor in the house but it is not clear if it had been working.

Detective Chief Inspector Tony O'Donnell, who is leading the murder investigation, said: "We want to hear from anyone who was in the Beach Road area between 1am and 5.30am."

A 35-year-old man being quizzed by detectives was arrested at an Eastbourne house on Saturday evening on suspicion of murder.

Magistrates have now granted police an extra 36 hours to question him.