CCTV released over Tony Nicholls fireworks murder eight years on

Previously unseen CCTV showing the moments before fireworks exploded in a man’s house, engulfing it in fire, has been released by police in a bid to find his killers, eight years after he died.

Former Jaguar Land Rover worker Tony Nicholls was 56 when a group of people burst into his house in Birmingham and set off the industrial-sized explosive on 2 November 2017.

He fled to an upstairs bedroom, an inquest found, but suffered unsurvivable burns before he died in hospital five days later.

His daughter Fiona Nicholls said in the renewed police appeal that he was “the best dad” to her. She said she relived the trauma of losing her funny, witty and hard-working father every day.

“Everyone said hello to him, who knew him,” she said. “He made no enemies. He was just a down-to-earth man.”

She said she had been in hell ever since the day he died, and every Bonfire Night brought back the trauma, which she said would stay with her forever.

Ms Nicholls told how her father suffered 80% burns and described those who carried out the attack as “evil”.

“I just want to know why,” she said. “Why have you done this? Someone out there knows something. They’ve got to do the right thing, and they’ve got to come forward and tell the police.”

She said she and her father needed justice and answers.

Five men, aged 31, 30, 23, 22 and 19, and a 19-year-old woman were arrested on suspicion of murder and released under investigation, but police have so far not charged anyone.

Det Supt Jim Munro said police know the answers “lie within the local community”.

He said: “Understandably, in any tight community, when people have got information and they feel that they’re grassing, for want of a better word, or providing information at the risk of being called a snitch, there are measures that we can look at.”

But he said: “There is also a family that is still seeking justice.”

Urging people to come forward, Mr Munro called on people to examine their consciences.

A £20,000 Crimestoppers reward has been offered for information.

CCTV released by West Midlands Police shows a group of people approaching the house in Tile Cross and running away moments later.

After they leave, a firework shoots out of the house before the blaze takes hold.

The firework that ignited at 23:20 GMT in the hallway was thought to have contained about 200 tubes of explosives, gutting the open-plan living area.

Further images released by police show the firework and the devastation to the home.