Gran's final sweet text to mum before four great-grandkids killed in horror house fire

Deveca Rose is accused of manslaughter after her four twin sons died following a house fire in Sutton, London, while she allegedly went out shopping days before Christmas

The grandmother of four boys who died in a house fire days before Christmas had been organising a "Santa's grotto" for them just days before, a court heard.

Twins Leyton and Logan Hoath, aged three, and Kyson and Bryson Hoath, aged four, all perished in the blaze at home in Sutton, London, on December 16, 2021. Their mum, Deveca Rose, had allegedly left them home alone while going to the supermarket when the fire broke out, with the youngsters tragically found upstairs by fire fighters.

Rose, 29, is accused of four counts of manslaughter over the four twins' deaths. The Old Bailey heard from the boys' paternal great-grandmother, Sally Johnson, who described them as "my world", stating how she had been organising Christmas activities for them when she last spoke to the mother.

Mrs Johnson told the court on Tuesday there had been several occasions where she had called the house only for one of the boys to answer and say their mum was at the "pop shop". "I offered to look after the boys if she was struggling. I think she was finding it difficult to raise the boys in that house," she said.

"Often she would ask me to look after the boys for an hour or two and then she would not pick them up until much later in the evening. I would often try to help her by giving her food, things for the house, cleaning products to use.

"I was aware that she would leave the boys by themselves in the house. When I asked her about this, she would say 'oh no, I just went to the pop shop' which is a local shop just seven houses away. I do not know how often this happened but I remember several times I phoned the house and Kyson answered the phone and told me 'mummy has gone to the pop shop'."

Mrs Johnson also said in her statement that Rose was a "good mum to the boys" and took care of them, ensuring they were always clean and tidy. She said: "They were always taken to the park whether rain or shine because she wanted them to get fresh air and she would always take them out on activities."

Mrs Johnson said she had a great relationship with the twins, saying: "They really were my world." She told jurors that the boys' father Dalton Hoath also had a good relationship with the boys and would see them regularly.

But in her statement read to the court, she said that she found their mother, who worked as a part-time carer, to be "aloof", "haphazard" and a bit "dysfunctional". The last time she communicated with Rose was earlier on the day of the fire when she texted asking for food suggestions for an early Christmas buffet for the boys, having organised a "Santa's grotto" in the garden.

When she heard the house was on fire, she rushed to St George's Hospital where two of the boys had been taken. She said: "When I arrived at St George's, Kyson had just passed away and medical staff were still working on Bryson.

"Shortly after this, I could hear Deveca screaming, saying 'not my boys, not my boys'. I heard a scream and 'not my babies too'." Rose, of Wallington, south London, has denied four counts of manslaughter and child cruelty and the trial continues.