RESIDENTS in a Suffolk village heard suspicious noises on the night pensioner Joan Albert was murdered in her home, detectives revealed today.Police hunting the killer of Capel St Mary woman Joan Albert have asked people living in the area to cast their minds back to the night of Saturday, 15 December, last year and ask themselves "was I disturbed outside my property?"The plea comes after a Garrods resident reported hearing a gate and fence being rattled just after midnight and a person living in Barnfield heard a loud bang followed by a dog yelping as if in distress at around 1.

VILLAGERS heard suspicious noises on the night pensioner Joan Albert was murdered in her home, detectives revealed today.

Police hunting the killer of Capel St Mary woman Joan Albert have asked people living in the area to cast their minds back to the night of Saturday, December 15 last year and ask themselves, "was I disturbed outside my property?"

The plea comes after a Garrods resident reported hearing a gate and fence being rattled just after midnight and a person living in Barnfield heard a loud bang followed by a dog yelping as if in distress at around 1.50am on Sunday, 16 December.

Detective Superintendent Roy Lambert, leading the murder hunt, said: "These incidents may or may not be relevant to our enquiry – but they are both suspicious and occurred in the area at around the time Joan Albert was murdered."

Widow Mrs Albert was found stabbed to death in her nightclothes in the hallway of her Boydlands home at 10am on Sunday, December 16.

Murder detectives want to hear from anyone else who may have heard strange activity outside their home that night or early the following day.

"We are anxious to hear from anyone else in Capel who was woken or disturbed by noises outside their property on that night. Their information could help us," Det Supt Lambert said.

"To help jog people's memories, we are asking them to focus on the programmes shown on television," he added.

BBC1 showed the following on December 15: 10.15pm, Broken Arrow; 11.55pm, Nowhere Lane; 1.25am, Friday Night with Jonathan Ross.

BBC2 showed: 10.30pm, Music Box; 12.30pm, If.

ITV showed: 10.30pm, The Premiership; 11.45pm, Wilder Napalm; 1.45am, Box Office America Special.

Channel 4 showed: 10.55pm, So Graham Norton; 11.50pm, Today at the Test; 12.20am, European Film Awards; 12.50am, The Brood.

More than 400 calls have been received by detectives working at a murder incident room. Around 25 officers are continuing to work on the case.

Anyone with information should contact the incident room on 01473 613777 or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.