A former Norfolk detective who died after completing a half marathon in London has been described as a 'highly respected and much loved member of the Force' by devastated colleagues.

Andy Ninham had served with Norfolk Constabulary for 30 years, rising to the rank of temporary detective chief inspector in a policing career which started with time on the beat in both Norwich and Great Yarmouth.

Detective Inspector Ninham, who had only just retired last month, loved running and died at the weekend after taking part in a race in the capital.

Norfolk's chief constable Simon Bailey, who has offered condolences to Mr Ninham's family, has paid tribute to the 'career detective' in a statement issued by the force.

It said: 'Andy was well known for his love of running and in fact died having just completed the Hampton Court Half Marathon.

'He was recognised by the whole Force as a true gentleman with a great sense of humour; his death has shocked not only his family and close friends but all his former policing colleagues, having only retired in the last few weeks.

'We knew Andy in the latter part of his service as a career detective with a strong investigative background to the variety of roles he worked in across the county during his 30 year career.

'Andy joined the Constabulary from Norwich Union, after attending his local high school in Sprowston.

'Having completed nearly a decade in uniform in both Norwich and Great Yarmouth, Andy then held a number of positions from Detective Constable to Detective Chief Inspector across both CID and Child Protection, offering support not only to the victims he was there to serve but also to his fellow officers and staff colleagues.

'Andy was also known for his diligence and conscientiousness, even as a young constable in 1989, he received a Chief Constable's commendation for his response to a public order incident and a Magistrate's commendation for chasing a suspect.

'As a detective his support for victims of crime and his investigative abilities were recognised with numerous awards .In addition, while a serving officer, he undertook both an Open University degree course in Physics and Applied Mathematics and a Masters in Computer Science.

'Andy was a policing professional who not only served in England but supported countries around the world during his time with the Constabulary. He was seconded to Jordan in 2005 to help train Iraqi police officers, in 2009 to Iraq itself as a police investigations advisor and again in 2016 to Afghanistan where he offered investigative policing support to the armed services.

'Our thoughts are with his family at this very difficult time.'

Following Mr Ninham's death, others have paid tribute, including Chief Inspector Lou Provart who tweeted: 'Very sad to learn of the passing of a great police officer, but more so a great man. DCI Andy Ninham (retired) - may you rest in peace.'

Keith Bristo, Norfolk Police Federation secretary added: 'Norfolk Police Federation wish to honour the memory of one of its own, Andy will always be remembered as the good and caring gentleman he was, doing everything he did whilst thinking of others first and in the spirit in which he did it.

'Many officers have said Andy was a pleasure to work with and an honour to have known.

'Our thoughts go out to his family and all those who knew Andy as a colleague and a good friend'.

Paul Ridgway, former Norfolk Police Federation chairman and a former colleague of Mr Ninham's, said: 'I knew Andy personally as my sergeant and subsequently as a work friend and he always looked after his colleagues who worked for him.

'He was exremely well known and it's a shock to a lot of people. He was a really lovely bloke.'