All of the victims were found upstairs

Thirty firefighters tackled flames at the home on Somerville Road in Rowley Fields at 0505 BST on Monday.

Neighbours said the victims - two of whom are believed to be children aged between 6 and 10 - died after the father of the household left for work.

All five victims were found in the bedrooms of the semi-detached house. An inquiry is under way.

Thick smoke

The cause of the blaze has not yet been determined but the emergency services said they were not ruling out any suspicious circumstances.

The two children, two women and a teenager are all thought to have been overcome by smoke.

The house is not thought to have had a smoke alarm.

Neighbours said they heard a woman screaming for help from a first floor bedroom but she could not be rescued.

A spokesman for Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service said: "The first crew on the scene was faced with a severe fire.

"Approximately 30 firefighters from three city stations extinguished the blaze, using two main jets.

The fire crews were faced with a very severe fire and flames coming out of the front and back of the property Chief Fire Officer David Webb

"Five persons in the house at the time of the fire have tragically died.

"Officers from Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service, in conjunction with Leicestershire Constabulary, are carrying out an investigation into the cause of the fire."

The fire is believed to have broken out after the man left to set up his nightwear stall at Leicester Market.

Neighbour Amarjit Singh said the fire had been so fierce people awoke to find smoke filling the road.

He said: "It all happened so quickly. A woman was shouting 'Help' at the back of the house.

"All the houses were covered in smoke."

Chief Fire Officer David Webb said he could not confirm the identities of the five victims.

He added that the cause of the blaze was not yet known but they were not ruling out any suspicious circumstances.

He said: "We had a severe fire in the property behind me - a very severe incident in which, unfortunately, five people lost their lives.

"It is still in the hands of the police to identify the victims and look at the cause of the fire and the cause of deaths.

Floral tributes

"With a fire as severe as the one here, it will take some considerable time to get through the house. We have to be open-minded on issues like this.

"The fire crews were faced with a very severe fire and flames coming out of the front and back of the property.

"Within seconds of moving into the property they found the bodies.

"It is always distressing to have incidents of this kind but it is particularly unusual to be faced with this number of fatalities."

He did not confirm whether the five victims were from the same family but said he believed one person was not inside the building when the fire started.

Friends have left floral tributes outside the house.