THE former Hampshire doctor who lost his wife and five children in a house fire has been discharged from hospital.

Dr Abdul Shakoor was being treated at Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford for minor injuries sustained last Monday as he fought to rescue his family from the ferocious blaze at their end-of-terrace house in Harlow, Essex.

The doctor, who worked at Winchester's Royal Hampshire County Hospital until last year, lost his wife Sabah Usmani and children Hira, 12, Sohaib, 11, Muneeb, nine, Rayyan, six, and Maheen, three, in the tragedy.

A spokesman for Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust said: “I can confirm that Dr Shakoor has been discharged from the St Andrews Centre for plastic surgery and burns at Broomfield Hospital.”

The spokesman said Dr Shakoor had been released late on Friday.

Dr Shakoor was transferred from Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, where he works, to Broomfield Hospital to be closer to Maheen as she fought for her life, but the three-year-old died of her injuries on Thursday.

Dr Usmani and her four eldest children all died on Monday shortly after the fire.

Essex Police initially treated the blaze as a suspected arson attack but no trace of an accelerant used to spark the flames has been found.

Although officers continue to investigate all possibilities it is now thought ''increasingly likely'' the fire was a tragic accident.