Two men who died in a blaze which engulfed a Stock flat may have barricaded themselves in, it emerged yesterday.

Garfield Haveron, 50, and Murray Kemp, 37, were found on the kitchen floor of the flat in Vernon Corner, Stock.

Firefighters had to break down a locked door behind which clothes and debris were piled.

Police said they have not ruled out the possibility the pair deliberately started the blaze in a gruesome suicide pact.

They had both been arrested on Sunday and charged with indecently assaulting a 17-year-old girl. The men were due to appear before Chelmsford magistrates this week. Mr Haveron was also charged with possessing cannabis.

Det Supt Kevin Macey, leading the police investigation, said post mortem results showed Mr Haveron and Mr Kemp died of smoke inhalation.

But he refused to speculate on whether the men had killed themselves. He said: "There was material behind the door such as clothes which prevented it from being opened.

"Whether that was a deliberate barricade is a matter for the coroner."

Colin Williams, from Ingatestone fire brigade, was one of the first to get into the house.

He said: "We couldn't get the door open and used a sledgehammer and a crowbar to lever it off."

Mr Williams strained his lower back while trying to lift the victims and was taken to Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford.

Police said Mr Haveron lived at the flat where the fire broke out, and Mr Kemp lived next door.

They had earned themselves a reputation in the neighbourhood for anti-social behaviour.

A date for an inquest has yet to be set.

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