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Bodies found in search for British millionaire

Christopher Foster - Christopher, Jill and Kirstie Foster
Christopher Foster - Christopher, Jill and Kirstie Foster

Two bodies have been found in the burnt out home of a British millionaire businessman.

Christopher Foster, his wife Jill and their 15-year-old daughter Kirstie have been missing since a blaze gutted the house in the early hours of Tuesday.

West Mercia Police said two bodies were found in the main part of Osbaston House, Maesbrook, Shropshire.

Police said the premises were deliberately set alight.

The Fosters went to a friend's barbecue on Monday before returning to their home later that evening.

It has been reported that Kirstie may have been talking online to friends in the hours before the fire, which destroyed a stable block, garage and badly damaged the house itself.

A spokeswoman for West Mercia Constabulary said police were looking at Kirstie's computer.

Mr Foster, who made his fortune developing insulation technology for oil rigs, was earlier this year branded 'bereft of the basic instincts of commercial morality' by a High Court judge.

Court documents show that Mr Foster's company, Ulva Ltd, which had gone into liquidation, faced legal action from one of its suppliers for thousands of pounds, and also owed about £800,000 (€989,006) in tax.