Watford woman may have been set on fire with accelerant – police

An 80-year-old woman may have been deliberately set on fire by a suspect using a flammable accelerant, police have said.

Police were called at about 12:45 GMT on Monday to reports the victim was found in a first-floor communal area in Caractacus Cottage View in Watford.

Detectives have since named her as Brenda Raymond, who is in hospital with life-threatening injuries and remains in a critical condition.

“An accelerant may have been used before she was deliberately set on fire,” said Hertfordshire Police, which is treating the incident as an attempted murder.

Evidence recovered at the scene indicated that a flammable liquid may have been poured through the letterbox of another property in the area, they added.

Det Insp Adam Bridges said: “This was an appalling and deeply distressing attack on an elderly woman who suffered horrific injuries after being set alight outside her own home.

“Her family are understandably distraught and have taken the step of releasing her name and photograph to help jog people’s memories around this distressing and highly unusual incident.”

The force has asked anyone who may have captured any relevant dashcam or CCTV footage from the area to get in touch.