A woman appeared in court today accused of murdering her husband in a house fire in Walsall.

The blaze also left three teenage girls and a woman seriously injured and put nine other lives at risk.

Georgina Furtado Vilela, aged 45, appeared at Walsall Magistrates Court charged with the murder of 46-year-old Carlos Vilela.

She is also accused of arson recklessly endangering life in relation to three girls and a 21-year-old woman. That charge also relates to nine neighbours in Pleck Road.

Furtado Vilela, originally from Guinea Bissau, west Africa, spoke through an interpretor to confirm her name and address.

She did not enter a plea and was remanded in custody to appear at Wolverhampton Crown Court on a date to be fixed.