Four people found dead at a house near Norwich were two young girls, a man and a woman – who were all believed to be family members, police said.

Norfolk Police said officers forced their way into an address in Allan Bedford Crescent, Costessey, on Friday morning following a call from a member of the public shortly before 7am, with police arriving on scene at around 7.15am.

The bodies of four people were found inside – and they were a man, 45, a 36-year-old woman and two young children, both girls, Detective Chief Inspector Chris Burgess said.

He said: “We do believe they were all family members at this time.

“Three of the people are believed to reside at the address and another one not permanently.”

Mr Burgess said that the man and two children lived at the address, but the “woman involved was visiting and didn’t live at the property”.

He said all four were found with injuries.

Next of kin have been informed and officers are supporting them, the officer said.

Mr Burgess continued: “I would be reassured that we’re doing a thorough investigation into this.

“I’m confident this is an isolated incident but, as I say, it’s very early on, I’m keeping an open mind.

“I would stress to the community, let’s be very aware of what we share on social media without confirmed information.

“We don’t want to cause any undue distress or give false information that might actually hamper the investigation rather than support it.”

He said that officers had previously attended the property, on December 14 2023, in relation to a missing person inquiry.

In an earlier statement, Mr Burgess, from the Norfolk and Suffolk major investigation team, described the incident as “very distressing and tragic”.

He said he understood that news of the incident was shocking and the force would release more information as soon as they could.

A cordon is in place and detectives from Norfolk and Suffolk police forces are leading the investigation.

Formal identification has not yet taken place and forensic exams are also under way.

Mr Burgess said officers were aware of “commentary on social media about a knife discovered in a wooded area near to the address”, but he said that “at this time we’re satisfied it’s not connected to this incident”.