The stepmum of a 10-year-old girl who was found dead in a home in Surrey has said the family have “gone into hiding”.

Sara Sharif was found in Hammond Road after police were called from Pakistan by her dad Urfan Sharif on August 10.

She was living with her dad and his partner Beinash Batool when she died.

The pair, along with Urfan's brother Faisal Malik, are all believed to have travelled from the UK to Pakistan the day before Sara’s body was found.

In a footage posted by the BBC shows Beniash sitting alongside Urfan speaking for the first time since Sara’s death.

Beniash says that her and Urfan are willing to co-operate with UK authorities over the case.

She explained: “Sara’s death was an incident. Our family in Pakistan are severely affected by all that is going on.”

Beniash denied reports that one of Urfan's brothers claimed Sara had fallen down the stairs and broken her neck.

She added: “All of our family members have gone into hiding as everyone is scared for their safety.

“The kids are unable to attend school as they’re afraid to leave the house.

“No-one is leaving the house, the groceries have run out and there is no food for the kids as the adults are unable to leave their homes out of fear of safety (sic).

“That is why we have gone into hiding. Lastly we are willing to co-operate with the UK authorities and fight our case in court.”

It is not clear under what conditions the footage was filmed and Beniash claims have not been verified.

A post-mortem examination found that Sara sustained “multiple and extensive injuries” over a sustained period of time.

Urfan and Beniash left Britain with five children aged between one and 13, and Surrey Police want to question them over Sara’s death.

Their statement came after Sara’s mum Olga Sharif gave an interview to the Polish television programme Uwaga! in which she spoke of the harrowing experience of going to view her daughter’s body.

She said: “One of her cheeks was swollen and the other side was bruised.

“Even now, when I close my eyes I can see what my baby looked like.”

Olga separated from her husband in 2015 and Sara and her older brother had been living with her until 2019, when the family court ruled they should live with their father.

Olga still had equal rights to see the children and said while that was easy to maintain initially, it became increasingly harder over time.

Sara’s grandfather has told the BBC the girl’s death was an “accident” and three family members who left the UK for Pakistan will “ultimately” return to face police questioning.

Muhammad Sharif said he saw Sara’s father soon after he arrived in the city of Jhelum and said his son had fled the UK out of “fear”.

Surrey County Council has told the PA news agency that the girl was known to the local authority.

Authorities in Pakistan are searching for the trio and lawyers in the UK have said the nation’s government is unlikely to block an extradition request in connection to the death.

While there is no formal extradition treaty between the UK and Pakistan, people have been returned from the Asian country before.

The full interview with Olga will air on the Polish TV programme at 7.55pm local time (6.55pm BST) on Wednesday.