THIS is the first picture of the woman who was strangled to death after her home was set on fire.

The photo of Linda Hood, 68, has emerged as her brother Tony Green paid a touching tribute to her, saying she was a “kind and friendly lady”.

Linda was killed at her two-bedroom terraced home in Cherwell Way, Gorleston-on-Sea near Great Yarmouth, Norfolk on June 11.

Police launched a murder investigation after firefighters tackling the blaze discovered the widow’s body.

The pensioner – nicknamed 'Little Linda' by neighbours as she was just 4ft 10in tall – died from compression to her neck, a post mortem revealed.

Tony said: “I am deeply saddened to hear the awful news of how my beloved sister Linda has died, she was a kind, friendly lady who would assist in helping anyone out.

“I really want to urge for anyone who has any information to come forward and assist the police with this serious investigation”.

Neighbours raised the alarm just after 9am after opening Linda's front door and realising her home was full of smoke.

One said at the time: “Her next door neighbour’s daughter came round to visit her mum and heard the sound of Linda’s smoke alarm going off.

“She ended up knocking on my door because I have her spare key due to her having locked herself out in the past.

“I opened the door and there was a lot of smoke. I don’t know how long the fire had been going for.

“We called the fire brigade and they told us not to go inside.

“The firefighters were here in a few minutes and sadly she was dead.”

Another neighbour, in an adjoining house, said she saw “a mist” and smelled burning in her bedroom when she woke up on Friday morning, suggesting the fire was already alight.

Others paid tribute to "lovely" Linda following her death, who "would always say hello to everyone".

“She used to have a job delivering free newspapers all over the town and carried on doing that until a couple of years ago when she had to give up because she had problems with her legs,” one local said.

“We used to see her pulling round her little shopping trolley stuffed with papers.

“Even when she had mobility problems, she would be limping along. She was such a hard worker.

“She had lived in her house for around 40 years and everyone around here knew her.

“I can’t imagine what has happened and why anyone would want to harm her. It is just awful.

“Her husband Alan died around five years ago and they did not have any children.”

Any witnesses or anyone with information is asked to contact Norfolk Police on 101 quoting incident number 100 of 11 June 2021 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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