THE first picture has emerged of Julie Fox who was found dead at her home in Worcester.

West Mercia Police released the CCTV image and continue to appeal for anyone who knew Ms Fox, saw her recently or recognises her from the released images, to contact police.

Detective Superintendent Adrian McGee said: "This is a recent CCTV image of Julie; however, we are continuing to look through CCTV from businesses and private premises to see if there are any other sightings of her or anything else suspicious that could help with our enquiries.

"We're keen to speak to anyone who knows Julie or who has seen her in the last couple of weeks.

"I'm also appealing to anyone living in the areas around Tolladine and Warndon who has CCTV in their property to ensure they preserve recordings made between 6pm on Friday 22 December and 6am on Saturday 23 December and call the investigation team on 101.

"I'd also make the same appeal to anyone with dash cam footage who was driving on Carnforth Drive, Windermere Drive or Langdale Drive or nearby between these times to preserve the footage and contact us.

"This is around the time Julie was last seen alive so there may be footage that could be vital to our investigation."

Police are also trying to locate the pink handbag Ms Fox is holding in the CCTV footage.

Det Supt McGee added: "While there was no sign of a break-in at Julie's bungalow we believe that this pink handbag is missing from there.

"I'm appealing to local people to keep an eye out for this bag and if they see it to call police immediately."

"Members of the public may well hold the key to this investigation and helping us to identify who is responsible for Julie's death. Any information, no matter how small, will help us to build up a better picture of Julie and piece together her final hours."

The 51-year-old was last seen be here carer at her home in Carnforth Drive in Worcester at around 7pm on Friday (December 22).

Ms Fox was found dead in her bungalow shortly before 6.50pm on Wednesday (December 27) after neighbours alerted the emergency services due to the smell of gas coming from the property.

A post mortem carried out on Thursday (December 28) established that Ms Fox, who lived in the bungalow alone, died from an injury to her head.

Anyone with information or CCTV footage can call 101 and quote incident 597s of 27 December 2017.

Alternatively, information can be provided anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via www.crimestoppers-uk.org