Tributes have been paid to a recently retired chief constable Simon Cole, who was found dead at his home.

Former Leicestershire Police Chief Constable Simon Cole, who stepped down last week, was discovered dead at an address in Kibworth Harcourt on Wednesday.

The 55-year-old had held the position for 12 years and announced his retirement from the force in January.

Hundreds of tributes have flooded in from police officers, other forces, council leaders, MPs and faith leaders.

Editor of Pukaar News, Romail Gulzar, told BBC Radio Leicester he still had “no words” to describe the loss.

“A few weeks back we were just having a dinner together, celebrating his retirement. I cannot believe he is gone,” he said.

“This man has given me so much over the years. He was so full of love and fun. People really loved him… and I believe he has left behind a great, great legacy.”

He said he had received an email from Mr. Cole on Tuesday evening.

“He said he was looking forward to coming and seeing me in the morning,” he said. “He was looking forward to coming to our event with his wife.

“But that morning never happened.”

Ian McFadden, a special sergeant with Leicestershire Police, said Mr Cole would often be seen patrolling with other officers.

“He wasn’t afraid to put a stab vest on and come out on patrol,” he said.

“He just loved interacting with people. You would struggle to find a chief constable that would actually go out and walk the beat alongside other officers, get his hands dirty.”

Spokesman for the Federation of Muslim Organizations, Suleman Nagdi, called Mr. Cole “a man of great integrity”.

“He was always ready to listen to the concerns of the community and actively strived to deliver people’s expectations in a way that was very unique to him and his unique style of leadership and commitment to policing our wonderful city,” he added.

Mr. Cole grew up in Leicestershire and had been in policing for 30 years, also serving with West Midlands and Hampshire.

As well as a number of police support and advisory roles, he had also been vice-president of Leicestershire Guides and Scouts.

He spoke to BBC Radio about his retirement and said: “I think it’s time to pause and do something else.”

“I wanted to do a job that I thought had a value to it,” he said.

“When I joined the police when I was about 21, I didn’t at that point want a job that was in an office. I wanted a job that was out and about and real, and 24/7.