A woman who spent her childhood in Shropshire has been found dead at her West Midlands home, in “unexplained” circumstances, police have revealed.

The body of Edith Jennings, 49, was found in the Offmore area of Kidderminster in the early hours of Saturday.

Police have arrested a woman on suspicion of manslaughter and released her on bail pending further inquiries into the death, which they are treating as “unexplained”.

Mrs Jennings, who lived in Ludlow until she was 13, was pronounced dead at the scene by ambulance crews.

They were responding to a report that a woman had fallen down some stairs.

Police said a post mortem examination was carried out on Sunday but the cause of death has not yet been established and the results of tests are awaited. 

Her family has described her as a “beautiful and colourful character who was devoted to her family”. 

Mrs Jennings was a mother-of-two and a housewife. She married her childhood sweetheart Robert.

Their children Thomas, who lives in Kidderminster, and Carly, of Kingswinford, are both in their 20s. 

In a statement Mrs Jennings’s family said: “She had a great sense of humour and was always laughing – the life and soul of the party. 

“She loved nothing more than to be surrounded by her family and wanted to spend every moment with them. Edith was a beautiful and colourful character who was loved by so many people. 

“We will all miss her so much and her death has left a big hole in our lives – it’s hard to imagine our lives without her.”

The family said that although she had no brothers or sisters she was very close to her cousins Shirley, Lisa and Rose and devoted to her one-year-old granddaughter Megan.