A pensioner has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a woman was shot dead.

The emergency services found a woman in her 50s with a gunshot wound to her chest at an address in Moreton, Merseyside at 1.45am this morning.

She was pronounced dead at the scene. A 79-year-old man, who is known to the victim, was detained and he remains in custody for questioning.

A cordon has been set up on Meadowbank Road while officers go house-to-house and comb the area for CCTV and forensic evidence.

Chief Inspector Derek Riley said: ‘Although a man has been arrested following the tragic death of this woman in Moreton we are still in the very early stages of our investigation and enquiries into the incident are still ongoing in the area.

‘I would ask anyone who was in the area of Meadowbank Road in the very early hours of this morning who saw or heard anything or thinks they have captured anything significant on their doorbell camera or dashcam to contact us as a matter of urgency.

‘I would also encourage anyone who has any other information which they believe could assist with our investigation to get in touch as this could be vital to our enquiries.’

This is a breaking news story, more to follow soon… Check back shortly for further updates.

Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected]. Or you can submit your videos and pictures here.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

Follow Metro.co.uk on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates. You can now also get Metro.co.uk articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here.

The emergency services found a woman in her 50s with a gunshot wound to her chest.