Tributes to 'wonderful' woman who died in fire

Dozens of tributes have been paid to a woman in her 80s who died in a fire in Shrewsbury on Monday.

Named locally as Rose Roberts, she was pronounced dead at the scene on Windsor Place, near Castle Street, after emergency services were called at 03:30 GMT.

The fire service said it was not treating the blaze at the 16th Century building as suspicious.

Roberts has been described on social media as "a wonderful lady" and "a mum to be very proud of".

She had run the Shrewsbury Arts and Crafts Centre in Perches House.

Writing on the Reddit platform, one user said: "My wife and I are from America and stayed in an air B&B in that very building a couple of years ago.

"We had the pleasure of meeting Ms Roberts down in that quaint little shop.

"She was extremely nice and took the time to explain to us the history of the building and its role in the film 'A Christmas Carol'."

The Dog & Pheasant pub based in the town sent their condolences to the family, describing Roberts as a "beloved mum".

One commenter said: "Rose was a wonderful lady - I loved hearing the stories of her travels, and she was a stalwart of the music sessions in The Loggerheads a few years ago."

Another added: "She was a mum to be very proud of, a very brave woman and a great character. R.I.P. lovely Rose."

In the For The Love Of Shrewsbury Facebook group, Stephen Williams said Roberts had been the second generation of her family to have a shop at the address.

He referenced "the House that Rose re-built" due to her "hands-on approach" to renovations, sharing photos of her outside the building in 1979.

"It's a real tragedy, and I think lots of people in the town centre and in the arts community and beyond are feeling upset, and I know that the outpouring of love and affection on social media probably speaks for itself, really," said Alex Wagner, deputy leader of Shropshire Council and mayor of Shrewsbury.

"There are a lot of people in Shrewsbury who Rose knew, and who were incredibly fond of her stopping for a chat outside Perches House or in the arts and crafts centre, and it's a real tragedy for the whole town."

Leading tributes on Tuesday was Heart & Arrow Tattoo Studio.

Their post said: "We are absolutely devastated to hear the awful news about dear Rose, our old and first landlady for our first studio.

"If you've been coming to Heart & Arrow for a good few years, you will remember our first place, it was small, down some stairs, underneath an amazing building.

"That building was Rose's pride and joy. We saw some incredible photos and heard some amazing stories from her, when she invited us into her home."

Fire crews remained on site overnight, using an aerial ladder platform and a drone to check for hot spots.

"We're now at a point where we feel it is safe for our fire investigation team to go in and work with the police to identify what was the cause of the fire and where did the fire actually start," said Marc Millward, assistant chief fire officer at Shropshire Fire and Rescue.

He said teams aimed to get some displaced residents back into their properties.

"Over the coming days we'll know more about the severity of the fire, and which areas are affected most," he told BBC Radio Shropshire.

"At the moment, there's no indications that this was a deliberate fire, so our working assumption at the minute is that it was an accidental fire.

"For the lady who sadly passed away yesterday we would like to get some answers for her family."

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