The family of a Lowestoft woman at the centre of a series of deaths, including those of her three children, have said they 'believe she was driven to her actions'.

Fiona Anderson was found dead at the foot of the town's Battery Green multi-storey car park at 8am on Monday.

And hours later her three young children - three-year-old Levina, two-year-old Addy and 11-month-old Kyden - were found dead at her flat in London Road South.

A joint-statement released this evening by the 21-year-old's parents, Kerry and Michael Anderson, and sisters Claire and Laura Anderson, said: 'Fiona was a beautiful, intelligent girl and a loving and caring person, but she had suffered from mental illness since she was young and we believe she was driven to her actions yesterday.

'This was not our Fiona – she was not herself. She cared passionately about others but often brought stress on herself by caring too much. She was gentle but ended up under too much pressure.

'As a family we were close but she would often push us away, keen to do her own thing and not to listen when we offered support. Life was sometimes overwhelming for her.

'She was really popular but just didn't believe she was and had forgotten there were people there that could help her.'

The Lowestoft community has been left shaken by the deaths and police are still calling on local residents to call them if they saw Miss Anderson during the early hours of Monday.

The statement continued: 'We wish more had been done to recognise her mental health problems, which could be masked by her intelligence and creativity. She would often make costumes for the children, who she loved very much.

'Fiona will be known to many in Lowestoft as she attended Oulton Broad Primary, Lothingland Middle and Benjamin Britten High Schools and will be remembered by us as a girlie girl who loved Disney films and playing with her Barbies and My Little Ponies when she was younger.

'While she was popular she was also a very private person and we'd ask that the media respect this.'

- To contact police, call the non-emergency 101 number.