A family have told of their heartache after the sudden mysterious death of a Keighley police officer.

PC Neil Hustwit, 30, who had been with West Yorkshire Police for seven years, was on a stag weekend in Newcastle when he collapsed suddenly in a bar on Saturday evening.

The father-of-two and best friend, groom-to-be Robert Shackleton, decided to hold the party in Newcastle after the volcanic ash had forced the cancellation of their flight to Spain.

Neil’s widow, Jayne Hustwit, 30, said: “A group of them had been to watch the football and gone for a couple of drinks. Neil had gone out and walked back into the pub and he went as if he had fainted.

“An ambulance was called and his colleagues, being policemen and trained in first aid, checked his pulse and tried to revive him.”

Mrs Hustwit, from Colne, paid tribute to her “lovely, generous and clever” husband whom she met more than 12 years ago when they both attended South Craven School, Cross Hills.

She said: “He was the best father there could be for Alexander, aged four, and Amy, who is two.

“If it had happened in his line of duty, if there was somebody we could blame, somebody we could say did this to him — but we don’t know why it happened, we don’t have any answers.”

His mother, Christine, said Neil, a psychology graduate from Lincoln University, was a gentle man who listened to people and loved his family and “above everything his children”.

His father, Chris, said he loved the police force, enjoyed reading and used to play for Keighley Rugby Union Club. His 31-year-old brother, Rick, who lives in Hong Kong, is currently trying to get a flight home to be with the family.

Craven ward councillor Andrew Mallinson, Neil’s father-in-law, said the family was going through a “roller-coaster of emotions”.

Chief Supt Ian Kennedy, divisional commander of Airedale and North Bradford Police, said Neil was a popular officer.

Neil’s funeral will be held at Bolton Abbey next Friday, where he and Jayne were married.

An inquest has been opened and adjourned.