Dolls, bicycles among charred belongings from Greek blaze

The soot-smothered mermaid doll lying among the detritus of a fire-gutted home may have been in a child's hands just before the flames swept through.

The little canary's chirps were probably silenced just as the fire's chocking smoke engulfed its tiny cage. All that remains of a bicycle that was once a child's pride and joy is now a blackened hulk. And a singed soccer ball with a Chelsea logo won't be used again for another kid's pick-up game.

These are a few of the personal items left strewn among the burnt-out remains of hundreds of homes in the Greek coastal resort community of Mati that was devastated by Monday's wildfire. They bear silent witness to a resort teeming with life as many families enjoyed their summer holidays.

More than 86 people were either killed by the flames or drowned as they tried to flee the fire into the nearby sea, waiting for hours...