A former chief constable of Norfolk, Gordon Taylor, has died, aged 96.

He was probably the country's longest serving police officer when he retired in February 1980 after a total of 48 years.

As deputy chief constable of Norfolk, he was appointed Chief Constable in February 1975.

A native of Lincolnshire, Charles Gordon Taylor joined Warwickshire Constabulary in 1935 after serving for three years as a police cadet in Nuneaton.

He was posted to India with the City of London Regiment Royal Artillery, which interrupted his police career for three years until 1946, when he returned to Nuneaton as a detective sergeant.

In 1964, Mr Taylor was appointed assistant and deputy chief constable of Norfolk Constabulary and upon amalgamation of the local forces was appointed deputy chief constable of Norfolk Joint Police.

He was presented with the Queen's Police Medal in May 1972 by the then Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk, Sir Edmund Bacon.

Mr Taylor was a former chairman of the Norwich and District Crime Prevention Panel for many years. He was accompanied by wife, Joan, and daughter Diana, when he was presented with the OBE by the Queen at Buckingham Palace in March 1979.

And in the 1980 New Year's Honours he was made a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, which is a personal gift from the Queen.