A pensioner who was found dead in her flat in suspicious circumstances has been named by police as Esther Brown.

The 67-year-old was last seen on Friday and her body was discovered at around 4pm on Tuesday at her home West Princes Street in the Woodlands area of Glasgow. 

Officers are now hunting for the perpetrator and have appealed for witnesses.

Additional patrols have also been set up in the area. 

Esther been described as an “much loved and active member of the community”.

Flowers had been left at the gate of a park across the road from where Ms Brown was found, with a card reading “Esther – loved and cherished by us and by Jesus xxx”.

A postmortem examination was being carried out on Thursday to determine her cause of death.

Senior investigating officer Detective Superintendent Suzie Chow said officers are following a “number of lines of inquiry”.

She said: “It is imperative that we trace whoever is responsible for this woman’s death as soon as possible.

“The area of West Princes Street is very residential and we are sure that there will be people who may have witnessed something untoward in the lead-up to the discovery of the woman’s body yesterday.

“If you have any information, no matter how insignificant it might seem to you, please contact us as soon as possible.”

Superintendent Ross Allan told the PA news agency: “I would like to begin by offering on behalf of Police Scotland our deepest condolences to the family of Esther Brown at this deeply distressing time.

“Esther was a much loved and active member of the community here in the Woodlands area of Glasgow through her charity work and her willingness and commitment towards helping others.

“I know and understand the terrible impact that this suspicious death has had on the wider Woodlands community and local residents have seen, and they will continue to see, an increased number of police officers in addition to the incident caravan we have parked nearby.

"We continue to work closely with our detective colleagues and would again like to take this opportunity to reassure the public that we are working tirelessly to identify the perpetrator.

“Please be reassured by their presence and please do not hesitate to approach them and speak to them if you have any fears or concerns.”