A DEVASTATED father whose wife and three children were killed in a tragic house fire said his life will 'never be the same'.

The fire in Rosamond Street, Bolton, on July 8, killed mother and former Blackburn schoolgirl Aneesa Umerji, 40, her five-year-old daughter Khadijah, and two sons Hammaad, 12, and Yousuf, 10.

Father Zubair Umerji managed to escape the blaze before trying in vain to break through the front door and the window to save his family.

An inquest held at Bolton Coroner's Court confirmed the fire had been caused by a halogen heater, which had been placed in close proximity to the sofa.

Mr Umerji said: "I feel like I’m living a nightmare that I haven’t woken up from.

"My life will never be the same. We had an arranged marriage but we hit it off straight away.

"I knew she was the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.

"We had three beautiful children and I can’t believe I will never see their faces or hear them laughing again."

The blaze occurred between 8.30am and 9am when the family were all upstairs.

Mr Umerji got up to see smoke coming from downstairs and went down to see the sofa smouldering with the halogen heater in close proximity.

In an attempt to ventilate the house, he opened the window but the oxygen rushing into the property accelerated the spread of the fire, and the sofa quickly ignited, the inquest was told.

Mr Umerji said he remained on the ground floor and he ‘reversed himself’ out of the window after smashing the glass.

He was screaming for help outside but nobody was answering as it was in the early hours of the morning.

He tried to get back in the house but a neighbour pulled him back. As a result he received injuries to his hand, his eye, his legs and his feet.

John Duffin, fire investigator for Greater Manchester Fire And Rescue, said the four family members were found on the first floor of the building.

Firefighters went in through the front door and had to contend with intense heat, reaching to between 800 and 1,000 degrees.

Hammaad was pronounced dead at the scene, while Mrs Umerji, Yousuf and Khadijah, were rushed to hospital but could not be revived.

Mr Brennand recorded a conclusion of accidental death and a medical cause of death of smoke inhalation in all four cases, adding that it could not be known how the heater came to be next to the sofa.

He commended the community for their outpouring of support for the Umerji family.

He added: "In my opinion, it is not just commendable but perhaps a reflection of the innate decency of the people of Bolton towards the impact of this tragedy."