Clacton shooting: Police find body of man suspected of shooting off-duty Pc

Published on 10/07/2012 11:23

A MAN being hunted for murder after off-duty police officer Ian Dibell was killed has been found dead in a churchyard, police confirmed today.

• Peter Reeve found dead after police manhunt

• Pc Ian Dibell killed from single shot in street in Clacton, Essex

Pc Dibell was shot dead last night and a member of the public suffered leg injuries after Peter Reeve, 64, ran amok in a residential street in the seaside town of Clacton, Essex.

Police launched a search involving hundreds of officers, vowing “not to rest” until they found Reeve.

Pc Dibell, who lived near the Redbridge Road crime scene, was off-duty at the time and it is understood he intervened in a dispute.

Today Reeve was found dead in the village of Writtle near Chelmsford.

Essex Chief Constable Jim Barker-McCardle said: “I can confirm Peter Reeve, the man wanted for the murder of a serving police officer, was found dead, with a weapon in a Writtle churchyard and no shots were fired by the police.”

The family of Pc Dibell called him a “hero” and said he had paid for his actions “in the most devastating way”.

Mr Barker-McCardle said a number of lines of inquiry were being pursued as to the motive.

He added: “There must have been some sort of catalyst that prompted the scale of a tragedy of this kind.”

He said a handgun had been used in the attack and Mr Reeve, who was “largely unknown to police”, did not hold a firearms licence.