Portadown murder arrest after 37-year-old woman's death

There is evidence of fire damage at the scene in Portadown

A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after the death of a 37-year-old woman in Portadown, County Armagh.

The victim's body was found in a house in Church Street after the police received a report of a fire at about 02:15 GMT on Tuesday.

One other person, believed to be a young girl, is in a stable condition in hospital.

The 25-year-old was also arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and arson with intent to endanger life.

A cordon was put in place on the Armagh Road next to Church Street on Tuesday

A number of residents had to leave their homes in the area due to the fire and a cordon was erected on the Armagh Road next to Church Street.

Forensic officers were deployed to the scene and large blue screens were put in place.

You can still smell the smoke

by Aileen Moynagh, BBC News NI, at the scene

There has been plenty of activity here all day.

At 16:00, there remains a large police presence and there are a number of forensic officers in the area.

You can still smell the smoke in the air following reports of a fire which alerted police to the scene.

The main damage can be seen at the back of the property.

The fire service were called back to the scene around lunchtime as the fire sparked up a bit, and hoses were brought out to make sure it did not spread to surrounding terrace houses.

Local councillor Kyle Moutray said he was shocked and his thoughts were with the woman's family.

"I want to pay tribute to the fast actions of the emergency services who responded to the fire," he added.

Mr Moutray also praised staff from Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Council who set up an emergency centre for those who had to leave their homes.

Democratic Unionist Party MP Carla Lockhart said it was likely Church Street would remain closed for the duration of the day.

PSNI Det Ch Insp Rachel Wilson appealed for anyone with information to get in touch with police.