The distraught parents of two children who choked to death in their smoke-filled bedroom today warned of the dangers of playing with matches.

Six-year-old Waqas Ali and his sister Humaira, five, were found unconscious by an uncle at their home in St Mary's Road, Manningham, Bradford.

At an inquest yesterday, coroner Roger Whittaker recorded verdicts of accidental death.

The children's mother, 32-year-old Nasreen Akhtar, said last night: "Every time we think about it, it brings tears to our eyes.

"It's so important that young children don't play with matches. We don't keep them in the house - we have no idea how they got hold of them.

"They were lovely children - fun, bright and intelligent. We miss them terribly."

The inquest was told how the two youngsters were discovered unconscious at their home last October.

The children's uncle, Sohbat Ali, told the hearing how he went upstairs after smelling smoke in the house.

He pushed the bedroom door open and saw the children on the floor. He picked them up and carried them on to the landing. Paramedics arrived but were unable to revive them.

Fire investigators noticed spent matches in the bedroom and signs that bedding and clothing had been set alight. One of the children had used matches to start a small fire, which eventually burned itself out.

Following the tragedy, Waqas and Humaira were buried in Pakistan, where the family spent three months.

David Nudds, a fire investigation officer, told the inquest that the house had not been fitted with a smoke detector.

"Our aim in the fire service is to get property in West Yorkshire fitted with smoke detectors - they do save lives," he said.

Mr Whittaker said: "Parents should be careful. There should be no use of matches until children understand the dangers involved."

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