Body of teenager found burning in an alley

The body of a 16-year-old girl was found burning in an alley in Blackpool as police cordoned off the area around Kirby Road, South Shore, where the body was found, and specialist forensic officers were searching a nearby hotel.

A 22-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman were arrested nearby and are being questioned by police, Sky News reported. According to the police, the victim was Sasha Marsden, a student at Blackpool and Fylde College who lived in the Staining area with her parents.

Sky News reported that the police "appears to us that someone has attempted to set fire to Sasha and this is a line of enquiry that we are looking into".

Carl Evans, owner of the nearby Kimber Guest House, told Sky News he spotted the fire when he walked out into his back garden on Thursday evening.

"I heard the alarms going and saw the smoke, but I thought it was just someone burning rubbish," he said.

He added that some residents had attempted to put out the flames before realising it was a body on fire.