Wrexham car arson death: Inquest opens on Dorothy Dudley-Smith

The incident happened in Hightown, Wrexham

An inquest has been opened and adjourned into the death of a woman who was taken ill following an arson attack on her car in Wrexham.

A post mortem examination provisionally found Dorothy Dudley-Smith, 78, from Hightown died from a stroke, said the north east Wales coroner's office.

Her car was set on fire in an incident early on Tuesday morning.

North Wales Police are unsure whether the arson is related to a spate of deliberate vehicle fires in Wrexham.

A youth has been released on police bail pending further inquiries.

The acting coroner for north east Wales, John Gittins, opened and adjourned an inquest into the death of Mrs Dudley-Smith on Friday.

A post mortem examination was carried out at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital on Thursday.

A provisional cause of death has been given as "large haemorrhagic right-sided cerebral infarct", which is regarded as a stroke, according to the coroner's office.

The inquest will resume at a date to be fixed pending further investigations.

Figures released by North Wales Fire and Rescue Service show 23 of 25 car fires in nearby Caia Park have been started deliberately this year between 1 January and 4 November.

Their figures show there have been 300 deliberate fires in Wrexham county borough between 1 January and 31 October.

Three youths were arrested in connection with car fires in Caia Park on Friday, but police said the arrests were not connected to the incident in Hightown.

Anyone with information is asked to call North Wales Police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.