THE devastated parents of a teenage girl killed in a fire have paid tribute to their "outgoing" daughter.

Leah Casson, 18, sadly passed away in a house fire in North Shields on Monday.

Cops were called to the property on Vicarage Street along with fire crews.

Three people managed to escape the fire – but unfortunately the body of a fourth person was found.

Formal identification is yet to take place however, officers believe it to be Leah.

A tribute from her family read: “As a family we are totally devastated by what has happened.

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“Leah was an outgoing, bubbly young woman who we loved so much, and we can’t believe she has gone.

“Please let us grieve for her as a family and respect our privacy at this time.”

Leah’s family are being supported by specialist officers from Northumbria Police.

The fire is being treated as a suspected arson.

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Detective Inspector Louise Jenkins said: “Our thoughts are with Leah’s friends and family at this incredibly difficult time.

"Not only have they sustained injuries themselves and lost their home, but they have to come to terms with the loss of a loved one, and we’d ask their privacy is respected while they grieve.

“Our investigation remains ongoing and will do so until we can establish exactly what happened, and how Leah came to pass away.

“We are not ruling anything out and are currently treating the incident as suspected arson, but are asking anyone who has information or who thinks they can assist us, to come forward.”

If anyone has information they can visit Northumbria Police's website or by call 101 quoting log NP-20230116-0067.

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