TWO SUSPECTS are being quizzed by police over the murder of seven-year-old Joel Urhie.

Little Joel died when he became trapped in his bedroom after the fire deliberately started at the family home in Deptford, south east London.

Family and friends say gangsters were targeting Joel's older brother, convicted drug dealer Samuel, when they torched the family home in the early hours of Tuesday.

Police this evening arrested two men on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and arson with intent to endanger life.

The men, aged 21 and 29, were arrested at residential addresses in south London. They have been taken to a south London police station, where they currently remain.

Joel, seven, died in the horror blaze which ripped through the house after being started deliberately with an accelerant just before 3.30am.

His mum Sophie, 48, and older sister Sarah, 19, only managed to escape by jumping out the first floor of the house.

In a statement the family said: "We are still in shock and a lot of pain and trying to come to terms with what happened to us as a family."

Joel's older sister Sarah, a first year university student, shared sweet videos of her with the seven-year-old, writing: "Rest in perfect peace my amazing little brother Joel , nothing makes sense right now, I love you."

Grieving dad John, 54, who doesn't live at the south east London home, told the Sun Online: "He was a very lovely boy. It's a terrible loss. The pain we cannot forget.

"When I came at 4am in the morning, the first thing I saw was my daughter inside the ambulance.

"They said, 'Joel's dead', and there's nothing I can do about it."

He added: “Joel used to play football. He was doing very well with it. He used to play with all the kids around here. He was very intelligent. It's a painful situation."

Mum-of-two Elizabeth Okusanya, 42, paid tribute to Joel who was in the same class as her son at school.

She told the Sun Online: "He was very gentle, he didn’t get it or trouble. He just wanted to be himself. I used to call him Jo Jo.

"He was a very nice boy, a quiet boy."

She said she was still "shocked" by the horror fire, saying: "I feel like I must be in a dream.

"When I saw the fire I came out and just started weeping and weeping. I threw myself to the ground and started crying. It’s just so painful."

Neighbour Amanda Martin said: "Joel used to play with all the kids round here and everybody is devastated."

Joel's cousin Sylvia MacNamara said she had only seen him last week.

She said: "He was a sweet boy. He loved doing his ABCs. Every time you'd visit he'd get so excited to tell you a new word. He was so jolly."

Traumatised neighbours described how Sophie screamed "my son is in there" after the fire broke out at the Deptford home.

Close friend Grace Gbenedio, 56, told Sun Online: "It was terrible. The fire was really burning.

"The mum collapsed on my lap. She was in a bad state. Her head was bleeding, her head was full of blood. She couldn’t stand.

"She collapsed on me when a fireball - the last blast of the window - blew out the house. I was crying and she was crying."

She added: "She was crying for her son. She was saying ‘help my son, he’s inside.’

"I wrapped her in a blanket and covered her legs as she couldn’t stand. Her legs and hands were in a lot of pain.

"My daughter Tega, 31, was holding Sarah. She was saying ‘my brother, my brother, he’s in there.’"

Clive Stagg, 64, said "all hell was breaking loose" and added: "I have never seen anything like it. The whole house was ablaze.

"You couldn't even get near it, even if you would have tried."

The fire brigade said Joel was dead by the time firefighters got to him.

A post-mortem found Joel had died from “fire and smoke inhalation”.

Detectives also quizzed Joel’s 21-year-old brother Sam during the investigation and seized CCTV footage from a flat across the road from the family home.

Dad-of-one Sam was released from jail in April this year after serving half of a sentence of four years and four months for drug dealing.

He pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply heroin and cocaine and having criminal cash at Woolwich crown court in February 2016.

Police continue to ask anyone with information to contact the incident room on 0208 345 3715 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.