Va Va Voom

Christopher Foster, his wife Jill and their daughter Kirstie who went missing after their mansion was burned down. Photograph: West Mercia Constabulary/PA

Police and firefighters are waiting to search the gutted remains of a missing millionaire's mansion to establish whether he and his family died after it was set ablaze by arsonists.
Christopher Foster, his wife, Jill, and their 15-year-old daughter, Kirsty, have not been seen since fire swept through their home on the Welsh borders early yesterday morning, and the house is not safe to enter to carry out a search.
The remote three-storey building and several outhouses were all ablaze when firefighters arrived and there were unconfirmed reports that a horsebox had been parked in front of the property's electronic gates, with its tyres punctured, to make their task even harder.
Once the fire was finally brought under control, however, and the police investigation was under way, it became clear detectives could be facing more than just an arson and missing persons case. Instead, their investigation is likely to delve deeply into a labyrinthine story of wealth, failed business ventures and, quite possibly, suspicious deaths.
Although Osbaston House, at Maesbrook, near Oswestry, Shropshire, may not be safe to enter for some time, officers were able to search some of the outhouses around the £1.2m property. There they found the remains of two of the family's horses. There was no sign of the Fosters, however, leaving questions over whether they too may have died in the blaze.
Foster, 50, was a well-known and apparently popular figure in the area, and was thought to be a successful and wealthy businessman. He had established a number of companies which developed insulation technology for the offshore oil industry, with his wife acting as company secretary, and is said to have been a multi-millionaire before his 30th birthday.
He drove two Porsches and an Aston Martin, enjoyed riding and educated Kirsty privately. He had moved to Maesbrook from Telford about four years ago, and neighbours described him as friendly.
One neighbour, Gordon Richards, said: "When I saw Chris a few days ago, he seemed happy, but he said he was feeling the pinch at work because of the credit crunch."
One of Foster's main companies, Ulva Ltd, had been placed into compulsory liquidation last year. A court order was issued on November 13 for the company to be wound up.
Foster also became embroiled in a court case in which two former business associates were accused — and acquitted — of blackmailing him into handing over £100,000. Foster had alleged that the two men had plotted to blackmail him after the collapse of a land deal in Cyprus. They accused him of making a false blackmail allegation to conceal a plot to have one of the men assaulted — a claim Foster firmly denied.
In a separate incident, when Osbaston House was burgled in 2006, he is said to have told neighbours it was the result of a vendetta connected to his business.
About 80 police and civilian staff at West Mercia police are now involved in the investigation, which has been codenamed Operation Feedback. As well as making inquiries into Foster's business background, officers are examining CCTV footage from around the property in the hope of identifying the arsonists.
Detective Superintendent Jon Groves, who is leading the investigation into the fire and the family's disappearance from the area known locally as The Wood, appealed for assistance from anyone who might have seen the Fosters over the bank holiday weekend or had any information over their possible whereabouts.
He said: "There was a CCTV system at the property, which has been recovered by officers and will be examined over the coming days. The house, a garage and stable block and another outbuilding were severely damaged. Two horses in the stable and another in the outbuilding have been found dead. Two dogs which we believe were in a kennel block are missing. A search will be carried out of the property to establish if anybody was inside as soon as the building is deemed to be safe. Forensic investigators have been at the scene, and house to house inquiries carried out."
The damage caused by the attack was so extensive that police and firefighters will not be able to search the house until it is examined by structural engineers, and either reinforced or partly demolished.
The road leading to the property remained cordoned off tonight and a police helicopter circled overhead. A neighbour who did not wish to be named, said: "It is very, very weird. We have not heard anything. We don't know whether they were in there or not."
A police spokeswoman said officers had been in touch with relatives of the Fosters but the family still remained unaccounted for. "Nobody knows until we can get access to the building," she said.

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