Widow killed and home set ablaze

A murder hunt was launched yesterday after a 77-year-old widow was battered to death and her home set alight.

Firemen found the body of Joyce McCulloch in the living room of her home in Alvaston, near Derby, on Saturday night.

At first they thought she had died from blaze injuries. But a pathologist disclosed she had been struck repeatedly about the head with a heavy object.