A wife has paid tribute to her beloved husband who died of a suspected heart attack while swimming in the sea in Cornwall.

Geoffrey Howe was visiting Porth beach, Newquay, as part of a family holiday, when he became gravely ill.

The 74-year-old was pulled from the water at around 11am on September 23 and lifeguards performed CPR.

He was then airlifted to Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro where he later died.

His wife of 53 years, Gretna, of Seathorpe Avenue, Minster, has spoken about how much he meant to her and their family.

Mr Howe was born and bred in Sheffield, where the couple met as teenage sweethearts. They went on to marry in 1963 and had two children, David and Angela.

They then upped sticks and moved to the Isle of Sheppey where Mr Howe landed a job as a mechanical engineer at Sheerness Steel Mill in 1975, aged 33.

Mrs Howe said: “We moved to Sheppey when Angela was just three. We thought we would only be here for a couple of years, but we’ve never moved since.

"He was a wonderful family man; he would have done anything for his family, especially his grandchildren" - Gretna Howe

“Someone once said to me: ‘Once you move to the Isle of Sheppey, you will never leave’, and I think they were right.”

Mr Howe loved doing odd jobs for his friends and the gardening, which he always kept in an immaculate condition.

“Geoff had retired within the last year or two,” Mrs Howe said. “But he still did a few jobs here and there if he was asked – but if someone ever asked him whether he was retired, he would always deny it.

“He still really enjoyed doing the little jobs for his friends and former colleagues though. And if he didn’t do them, he wouldn’t have known what to do to keep his brain active.

“He wasn’t the type of man to just sit indoors all day long.”

Mr Howe most recently worked at the RB Plant Construction in Lenham, where he was highly regarded by those who knew him.

“Geoffrey will be sadly missed by all his friends and family,” Mrs Howe said.

“He was also a wonderful family man; he would have done anything for his family, especially his grandchildren. Running them from A to B never seemed to be too much of an effort for him.

“I would like to say thank you to all of our family and friends for their support during this difficult time.”

A service for all those who knew and loved Mr Howe will be held at the Garden of England Crematorium, Bobbing, at 1pm on Tuesday, October 11.

Mrs Howe is expecting many to attend from his home town of Sheffield.

She added: “Everyone is shocked. It’s just hard to believe what has happened.”

Flowers or donations to the British Heart Foundation are welcome via G Hogben & Sons Funeral Directors in Sheerness.