A 51-YEAR-OLD man has been charged with the murders of a mother and daughter at their home.

Shabaz Khan, of Ribble Avenue, Burnley, has been charged with two offences of murder and a further offence of arson being reckless as to whether life is endangered.

A 44-year-old woman from Burnley arrested on Thursday on suspicion of perverting the course of justice and aiding and abetting murder remains in custody.

The bodies of Dr Saman Mir Sacharvi, 49, and a girl, believed to be her 14-year-old daughter, Vian Mangrio, were found at their home in Colne Road, Reedley, on October 1 after officers were called at around 8.45am.

There was also evidence of smoke and fire damage inside the home.

A Home Office post-mortem investigation has since revealed Dr Sacharvi died as a result of pressure to the neck and that she had also suffered an assault.

The second body has yet to be formally identified but is believed to be Miss Mangrio. The post-mortem investigation remains ongoing and no cause of death has been established, though it was confirmed she was found badly burned inside the address.

Det Supt Jon Holmes, head of major crime at Lancashire Police, said: “Our thoughts remain with Saman and Vian’s family and we have officers supporting them at this awful time.

“We are continuing to ask anybody with information to get in touch. If you were in the area and saw something suspicious, have dashcam or CCTV from the area or have any other information, we would ask you to contact us straight away.”

People can contact police at https://mipp.police.uk/operation/0401020119P01-PO1 or on 101, quoting log 0429 of October 3.