Husband and wife with two young children found dead on Christmas

A couple have been found dead in their home on Christmas Day in what appears to be a suicide pact.

The bodies of the husband and wife, who have two children thought to be between five and seven years old, were found at a house in Billingshurst, West Sussex, England.

The mother, aged 30, was discovered along with her 33-year-old husband, who was found hanging, shortly after 9am when a concerned relative went to the couple’s home and saw the bodies through a window.

Police were called to the house in Groomsland Drive where the couple were pronounced dead at the scene.

Neighbours said the couple  were "in deep financial trouble" and had apparently decided to end their lives because they could not cope at Christmas with the money worries.

It is understood the couple had sent their children to stay with a relative under the pretence they wanted to prepare the house for Christmas