THE parents of a respected detective who died just a week after his retirement have paid tribute to a ‘fantastic husband, father, son and brother’.

Detective Sergeant Dave Storey retired from Darlington CID on March 18, aged 53. He died a week later, following a stroke.

Mr Storey’s wife, Jill, died four years ago and the couple are survived by their sons, Ben and Andrew.

His parents, Lilian and Fred, said: “Words cannot begin to describe our sadness at the loss of our wonderful son David.

“Along with his sons and his brother, Philip, we will miss and think of him each and every day.

“David was a fantastic husband, father, son and brother, who was much loved by all who knew him.

“David simply loved life and spending as much time as possible with those he loved.

“After David took ill, we became more aware than ever of all the people who knew and respected David and are extremely proud of everything our precious son achieved in his life, both personally and professionally.

“He was taken from us far too soon and although he is gone he will never be forgotten and will always be in our hearts.”

Mr Storey was born in Sedgefield, County Durham, in 1961 and grew up in Shildon.

His academic talents were recognised at Sunnydale Comprehensive School, where he was a prefect.

He joined Durham Police in 1983 and impressed senior officers from an early stage.

Mr Storey met his future wife in 1984 and they married three years later.

After several years as a PC in Darlington, he applied to join CID in 1989.

He went on to complete duty with Newton Aycliffe CID and was promoted to Sergeant, in Barnard Castle, in 2002.

A spell with Spennymoor CID followed and his career finished where it had started, in Darlington, where he worked with the intelligence unit.

Away from work, he enjoyed an active life, with swimming, hiking, mountaineering, badminton and squash among his hobbies.

Police motorcycles escorted the cortege for his funeral earlier this month.

Tributes have been paid by senior police figures. Chief constable Mike Barton remembered ‘a very special guy who was a fine officer and friend to many’.

Darlington’s chief superintendent Graham Hall added: “How can we put into words the life of a man who lived so much?

“Dave quite simply made the world a better place to be.”