Police have released CCTV footage of a cyclist buying a jerry can of petrol before a seven-year-old Nigerian boy died in a house fire. The man arrived at a Shell garage at 2.20am in Blackheath, South East London.
Little more than an hour later Joel Uhrie died in the fire at his family home in nearby Deptford. His mother Efe and older sister Sarah were injured as they jumped from first-floor windows.
Police believe the blaze may have been sparked by a burning item pushed through the letterbox. The man in the footage is described as white, in his 30s or 40s, 5ft 10in and of medium build.
He wore jeans, blue deck shoes and a blue T-shirt with a two word motif — one of which is “removals”.
The video taken on August 7 last year shows him filling the can before paying with a £20 note.
It was aired yesterday as part of a new appeal. Mrs Uhrie said: “Joel was the sweetest, most caring little boy. He was so intelligent and always curious to learn new things.
“His smile and laugh would light up a room and he was so full of life and energy.”
She said she had planned to jump out ahead of him to cushion his fall.
