A five-month-old baby boy died when fire swept through his grandparents' Friern Barnet pub on Monday night.

Liam Moriarty was asleep in a first floor bedroom of the Alexandra Arms in Cromwell Road as a wake took place downstairs.

His parents Kim Moriarty and Dominic Maher tried desperately to save their son after being alerted by a smoke alarm. They were beaten back by the ferocity of the flames.

Rescuers placed a ladder outside the house but could not reach tiny Liam through the window. His brother, Bradley, two, was snatched to safety by Miss Moriarty from a nearby room.

Firefighters rushed to the pub minutes after the alarm was raised at around 8pm. It took them more than an hour to extinguish the blaze, believed to have started when clothes were left too close to a heater. Miss Moriarty, 27, who lives at the pub with her parents, said: "Liam was a precious son and grandson who has been taken away from us too soon."

She added: "He will be deeply missed by his family and friends."

Her aunt, Tina Moriarty, 42, said: "Kim and Dominic are very sad and distressed. It's going to take them a long time to recover from this. It is awful losing anybody you love but to lose somebody so young is devastating.

"Liam was always smiling. He was a very happy little boy and a very loved child. Everyone is going to miss him greatly, especially his brother Bradley."

Assistant District Officer Mark Brown from Finchley Fire Station said: "When firefighters arrived the flames were coming out of the bedroom window it was very, very hot. They discovered the baby fairly quickly but unfortunately he was dead.

"It is an awful tragedy. For officers to discover a young child, especially when they have got young children of their own, it is a hard thing to deal with."

November 14, 2001 17:19

IAN LLOYD