A five-year-old boy and a man aged 41 have been found dead in a house in Leicester.

Police were called to the address in Hopyard Close at 9pm on Monday after the boy and the man were found unconscious.

East Midlands Ambulance Service and the air ambulance also attended but both were declared dead at the scene.

An investigation is being carried out into the circumstances surrounding the deaths and the events leading up to the incident, Leicestershire Police has said.

I can reassure people that there is no risk to the public and at this time we do not believe anyone else was involved in the incident

At this stage they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the deaths.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Sinski, from the East Midlands Special Operations Unit major crime team, said: “Following the tragic news that a child and a man have died, detectives are working to understand what happened inside the address last night.

“I understand this incident will raise many questions but our investigation is currently in its very early stages.

“I can reassure people that there is no risk to the public and at this time we do not believe anyone else was involved in the incident.

“Families of the two deceased are being supported by officers at this very difficult time.”

A police cordon remained in place at the mid-terrace property on Tuesday evening.

Next door neighbour Alan Potter expressed shock at the deaths, and told reporters a man lived at the address with his five-year-old son.

Mr Potter said the man, whose cousin also lived at the address, worked at a local warehouse.

The 75-year-old retired engineer said he saw the boy’s mother call at the address and knock on the door for more than an hour on Monday evening.

“We didn’t exactly see anything,” Mr Potter said. “We saw the air ambulance came over. Apparently, they (paramedics) went in, it was too late and they called the air ambulance off.”

Describing news of the deaths as “terrible,” Mr Potter added: “It’s the last thing we were expecting. It’s such a shame it’s happened.

“She (the child’s mother) was knocking on the door. She couldn’t get access. Eventually the police came at about nine o’clock and got access.

“They went in and what they found I don’t know.”

Mr Potter said he had heard what sounded like a child “running about” in the property at about six o’clock but it had gone quiet from around 7pm.

“It’s awful, awful,” he added, telling reporters that many local people had been left in tears. “They just seemed normal. He was beautiful, just a typical five-year-old – lovely. He used to run around here.

“We used to buy him presents at Easter and Christmas and when we used to go abroad, bring him stuff back.”