The small community of Bucknell is in shock after a villager died from burns received at his home on Monday night.
The Journal has been told by neighbours that the man who died was George Black, 41,who had lived in the village for some 10 years.
He ran a pawnbroker’s shop in Leominster, but had previously run the Bucknell village shop owned by his parents.
A 21-year-old woman, believed to be Sylvia Smith of Leominster, was with the Mr Black at the time and is stable in a West Country hospital, suffering from burns.
Bucknell parish council clerk Nancy Adams said: “I don’t think anything like this has ever happened before in Bucknell. It’s just not that sort of a place. Everybody knows everybody else. It’s a very quiet place.”
One villager, who did not want to be named, said: “It is terrible. No-one deserves to die like that. That is pure evil. I could never believe this would happen in a tiny village like Bucknell. It sends shivers down my spine.
“He upset a lot of people round here, but you wouldn’t wish that on anyone. You just don’t know what your neighbours are really like, do you?”
Mr Black died in the special burns unit of Whiston Hospital, Liverpool. A post mortem was being held yesterday as the Journal went to press.
Some 50 police are now conducting a murder inquiry. Two Leominster men, both in their twenties, were arrested early this week and are being questioned in Shrewsbury on suspicion of murder and arson.
Bucknell district councillor Nigel Hartin said he knew Mr Black quite well and said he was “extremely polite but kept himself to himself.”
“The community is shocked at these events,” said Councillor Hartin. “It is a close-knit and sleepy place where you just don’t expect this kind of thing.
“George Black has been in the area for more than 10 years and first came here to run the village shop. He was a big man and a colourful character.”
Police want to hear from anyone who may have seen or heard anything which might be linked to the case.
Anyone who can help is asked to contact Shrewsbury police on 0300 3333000.
