A 27-year-old man accused of murdering a toddler by setting fire to a house she was sleeping in has appeared in court.

Richard Curtis Kwakye was arrested on Saturday following a fatal flat fire in Camberwell, which left the child’s mother, grandmother and two other children critically ill in hospital.

He was remanded in custody after appearing at Tower Bridge Magistrates’ Court this morning charged with the murder of 19-month-old Siariah Letang from Thornton Heath.

He was also charged with the attempted murder of her mother Ellisha Letang, 23, grandmother Brenda Ricketts and a four-year-old boy and 11-year-old girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

Mrs Letang and Mrs Rickets both suffered life changing burns during the fire, which gutted the grandmother’s first-floor maisonette in the early hours of September 18.

The surviving children suffered life threatening burns, and all four remain under sedation in hospital.

Mr Kwakye, who lives in Andover Road, Twickenham, was also charged with arson, and arson with intent to endanger life.

He will next appear at the Old Bailey on Monday, September 27.

His 19-year-old brother Dimitri John-Lewis and their mother Josephine Nicholas, 46, appeared at the court charged with perverting the course of justice.

The pair, who both live in Wilmcote House, Paddington, were refused bail and will also appear at the Old Bailey on Monday.

* A 28-year-old woman arrested in connection with the investigation has been bailed to return to a south London police station pending further enquiries.