The heartbroken wife of a diver feared dead after he went missing off the Kent coast has described her husband Ben as “compassionate, and kind and a gentleman in the truest sense”.

Father-of-three Ben Moss, from Faversham, disappeared between Walmer and St Margaret’s-at-Cliffe near Dover on Monday, sparking a huge search-and-rescue operation.

Married to Rosie for 10 “very happy years” this year, Ben is a father to three beautiful children, Monty, seven, Hector, five, and six-month-old daughter Tabby.

“He was strong and vibrant, yet gentle.” said Rosie.

Ben, who owns a flooring company based in France, loves diving and politics.

“He raged against injustice and cruelty in the world,” Rosie added.

He is also a fan of motor sport and listening to cricket, Elgar, Queen and what his wife describes as ‘weird podcasts’.

It was in Egypt on their honeymoon that Ben first learned to dive – together with Rosie.

“How I wish he hadn’t,” she said. “But it gave him so much joy. He loved eating out and drinking Pinot Noir.

“He never cooked and always forgot to put the bins out.”

But it is his young family that the doting father is so incredibly proud of. Rosie said: “He read to the boys whenever they asked, he supported us all wholly and with a fierce passion. He spent as much time as he possibly could with us.”

The couple came to Faversham from London in 2009 and were planning to move to Devon this summer – a step Rosie says that her and the children won’t make without him.

“He was a superhero and I don’t know how we will live without him,” she said.

Ben was thought to have been diving with a partner to a wreckage near the patrol memorial at St Margaret’s-at-Cliffe when he vanished.

The alarm was raised when he failed to return to the boat, and he was reported missing to police at 3.40pm.

It is not known how long he was in the water before the alarm was raised.

A large-scale search involving coastguard and lifeboat teams followed, but the operation was called off on Tuesday evening.

Yesterday police confirmed specialist divers from the Metropolitan Police will continue to search the water.

A spokesman said: “Officers are working with partner agencies to establish the circumstances of the incident and locate the missing diver.”

Ben’s mum Victoria Moss said: “Ben touched everyone he met in such a way that he is remembered with such affection. “Once met, never forgotten.” Anyone with information should call police on 101.