Man convicted following fatal Wednesbury fire

A man has been convicted following a fatal house fire in Wednesbury last year.

John Edwards, aged 82, died after a fire at his home on Holyhead Road in the early hours of 11 May.

Mr Edwards along with three other occupants from the house, two men and a woman, were rescued and taken to hospital for treatment.

Sadly, Mr Edwards died from his injuries in hospital on 25 May.

A neighbour called the fire service after seeing a wheelie bin on fire outside the address which then alighted a bush and the house.

Investigators recovered CCTV footage from nearby, showing a man carrying a carrier bag and igniting a suspected cigarette butt which he found on the floor.

He could then be seen moving between the front gardens of Mr Edwards’ house and a neighbouring property for around 40 minutes.

CCTV footage showed the man igniting a possible lighter while standing in between the two houses.

Shortly after, out of sight of CCTV coverage, it’s believed the wheelie bin was set alight.

He then walked away from the scene and the bin caught fire.

Using facial recognition technology, we identified Andrew Gorrell, aged 53 as the suspect.

Pictured: Andrew Gorrell

Following the fire, Gorrell walked to a nearby petrol station where he told a staff member he was stranded and needed to get back to Wolverhampton Rail Station.

Gorrell was arrested from his home address in North Wales and was wearing the same jacket as he was wearing at the scene. Officers also recovered the plastic bag he was carrying.

He was then charged with murder, three counts of attempt murder and arson. He was also charged with three further counts of arson after three bins were set alight in Wednesbury on the same morning.

Following a trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court, Gorrell of Moss Grove, Saltney was found guilty of all offences.

He is due to be sentenced at a later date.

Detective Inspector Nigel Box from our Homicide Unit said: “We believe Gorrell was obsessed with fire as we found a stash of fuel and a fire pit in his garden.

“We also discovered that Gorrell moved the wheelie bin to block the front of the door of the house making it difficult for the occupants to escape.

“His actions and his obsession cost an innocent man his life as well as seriously injuring others. Our thoughts remain with Mr Edwards’ loved ones.”