CCTV footage may show perpetrator of deadly fire

A police force has released CCTV footage in the hope of solving a suspected arson attack in 2019 that caused the death of a 51-year-old woman.

In the footage, a person is seen in the vicinity of a block of flats on Waiblingen Way in Devizes, Wiltshire, just after it caught fire, killing Ulla Derrick.

Wiltshire Police said it was reviewing its investigation into the blaze at 01:00 GMT on 17 December 2019, saying it had never closed the case.

Investigators previously found the fire had been started deliberately in a communal area.

Shortly after the incident, a 20-year-old local man was arrested on suspicion of murder but was subsequently released with no further action taken.

DCI Phil Walker, head of the force's major crime investigation team, said: "A woman died because of someone's actions and we want to seek justice for her death.

"We are sharing previously unreleased CCTV which shows someone arriving and leaving the block of flats around the same time the fire was started."

DCI Walker acknowledged that the pictures lacked clarity, but urged anyone who recognised the person, or had any other information, to contact the investigatory team.