By Ted JeoryDETECTIVES were questioning last night a man and a woman in connection with the murder of a traffic warden who was found battered to death at her home.

By Ted Jeory

DETECTIVES were questioning last night a man and a woman in connection with the murder of a traffic warden who was found battered to death at her home.

A 26-year-old man and a 24-year-old woman from Clacton were arrested yesterday morning over the death of mother-of-two, Jean Dicker, in the town in January.

The man was arrested on suspicion of murdering the 58-year-old and the woman on suspicion of perverting the course of justice. They were being questioned at a police station in north Essex.

The arrests come more than nine months after Steve Dicker, 34, found his mother lying murdered in the hallway of their bungalow in Craigfield Avenue, Clacton, on January 29.

A post-mortem examination revealed she had died of serious head injuries. Police also said her mobile phone, handbag and credit cards were missing.

A former Colchester traffic warden, Mrs Dicker retired to Clacton with her husband of 40 years, Len, in 2001.

But in May last year, she was left devastated after her beloved husband died. She was just beginning to rebuild her life when the brutal attack happened.

At her funeral, a tribute written by her daughter Tracy, a 37-year-old housing officer, described Mrs Dicker as a “spirited person” who had won a bravery award in 1995 for helping to catch two burglars who had stolen a ring.

She had also been a gymnastics coach in Colchester and West Mersea, a keen motorcyclist and a dog-lover who exhibited at Crufts.

Speaking at a press conference in July, Mrs Dicker's distraught son, Steve, described how he had returned home at about 11.30pm from seeing some friends to find his mother's battered body. “She was a wonderful mother and a great friend,” he said.

ted.jeory@eadt.co.uk