Father and 10-year-old daughter named as victims killed in caravan fire

A father and his 10-year-old daughter have been named as the two people killed in a fire at a caravan site near Skegness.

Officers were called to the caravan fire at Golden Beach Holiday Park in Roman Bank, Ingoldmells, shortly after 3.50am on Saturday, Lincolnshire Police said.

On Sunday, the victims were named as Lee Baker, 48, and his daughter Esme Baker, 10, both from the Nottingham area.

However, formal identification is still yet to take place and “could take some time”, the force said.

Investigations into the cause of the blaze remain ongoing.

A member of the Baker family said: “Lee and Esme were excited to be spending the first weekend of the holidays together.

“We are all utterly devastated at what’s happened.

“This loss is incomprehensible at the moment, and we ask for people to give us space to process this utterly heartbreaking loss.”

A GoFundMe page set up for the victims’ family described Lee and Esme as “two peas in a pod” who were “both happy-go-lucky people who loved life”.

The page has so far raised more than £3,000.

A separate fundraising page said: “Lee was a hard working plasterer who loved his football and adored his darling daughter.

“Everyone who knew Lee loved his infectious smile and fantastic sense of humour.

“Esme was the brightest, funniest, most intelligent, happy little girl who loved to read, colour, dance her little heart out and was a member of the blue ice cheerleaders that she absolutely loved to be a part of. Above all she adored her family and friends.”

Senior investigating officer Detective Inspector Lee Nixon said: “We believe we might be close to arriving at a working hypothesis.

“We are working hard to validate the facts available to us to be able to provide answers for the family and loved ones of those who were very tragically taken by this fire.

“Yet the evident intensity of the fire has made this task incredibly challenging.”