THE bodies of a couple and their two young daughters were found today at their family home in southern England.

Vicki Case and her daughters Phoebe, two, and Nereya, one, were found stabbed to death at the semi-detached house in Fordingbridge, Hampshire.

The girls' father, Andrew Case, 32, was found hanging from the stairs, Sky News said.

Neighbours said they believed the 32-year-old delivery driver had slit the throats of his wife and the two young children before killing himself.

Neighbour Alayna Brooks, 53, said she rushed over to the house when the bodies were found by the children's grandmother.

She said she came out of the house screaming, "All my babies are dead."

Ms Brooks said she went into the house and found Vicki Case dead in the dining room with a plastic bag over her head.

She then went upstairs and found the two little girls dead on a bed.

The family had just returned from a week's holiday in Weymouth on the Dorset coast.

Case wrote of his pride in his family on his Facebook page: "I am 32, I got married in 2000 and have been with my wife, Vicki, for about 15 years.

"We have two beautiful daughters, Phoebe and Nereya."

Pictures on the website show him playing with his laughing daughters.

Vicki Case ran a children's nursery in nearby Sandleheath.

Her friend Shelley Brewer, 31, said the couple seemed happy with no apparent problems or money troubles.

The town's mayor, Malcolm Connolly, said the news was "absolutely tragic."

"Fordingbridge is a small town, it is a very tight-knit community and I think when people return from work tonight they will be devastated," he added.