Tributes have been paid to a former parish councillor from Wyton who was found dead by police after being reported missing.

John Hadley, 84, was found by officers on Sunday evening in Houghton having been reported missing earlier in the day.

The alarm was raised after he went to walk his dog in Hemingford Meadow and did not return home as expected.

Cambridgeshire police said the death was not being treated as suspicious and that the case was being passed to the coroner.

Speaking this week, the chairman of Houghton and Wyton Parish Council, Councillor Lesley Craig, paid tribute to Mr Hadley and his late wife, Pam, who she said had become “a fixture and fitting” of the village.

Cllr Craig said: “John and Pam moved into what was The Brown Teapot where they ran a successful B&B and became absorbed into village life.

“They were a double act, and John always marvelled that what they started is still thriving. John talked to everybody, however old or young, he was an integral part of village life.

“He was regarded as a fixture and fitting of the village, usually attending and being involved in every village event, including Feast Week where he spent many years on the committee, doing a lot of the leg work.

“John was always willing to help anybody. He regularly ran people to the hospital, and doctors. He once came to the aid of a damsel in distress who had fallen off her bicycle after being bitten by a squirrel.

John supported Leyton Orient FC for many years and used go to matches but always pointed out they usually lost when he attended. He did go a few weeks ago and was happy that they had actually won.

“He will be sorely missed by so many, especially this year when we all gather at village events and John won’t be there. I, for one, will think of him as I am sure everybody else will with the twinkle in his eyes and his mischievous giggle.”

John was instrumental in helping the parish council gain more than £200,000 in grant funding for the Memorial Hall and a room inside the hall was named in honour of both he and Pam.

John served as a parish councillor in the 1990s and was actively involved with Hinchingbrooke Hospital, serving on Link and then the Patient Experience Group which existed to improve patient experiences of the hospital

He was also part of the group that set up Neighbourhood Watch in his area of the village and was involved, also, with the Over 60s group.