The legal profession was in shock today following the death of recently-retired Bradford judge Roger Scott.

Judge Scott died, aged 65, in a hospice at the weekend after a short illness.

One of the most colourful judicial characters in the area and respected by judges, barristers and criminals, he retired last October, after 16 years as a Circuit Judge.

Tributes will be paid to him at a ceremony at Bradford Crown Court later this week.

Roger Scott, who lived in the Harrogate area, was called to the Bar in 1968 and worked as a barrister from chambers in Leeds before he was made a judge in 1993.

Judge Scott was devoted to his wife Diana, who he married in 1966, and insisted on her joining him for his last day in court. The couple have two grown-up sons and a daughter, as well as grandchildren. He was well known for his affection to his pet dachshunds, Charlie and Millie, who he brought to his judge’s chambers each day.

A court spokesman said: “I can confirm, very sadly, that Judge Roger Scott died in the early hours of Saturday morning.”

Graham Hyland QC, head of the Broadway barristers chambers in Bradford, said: “He was a much loved and respected judge by the legal profession in Bradford, Leeds and throughout the North-Eastern Circuit, and it is a great shock to many people.”

On Judge Scott’s retirement, the Recorder of Bradford, Judge James Stewart QC, described him as strong, fair and decisive, without “an ounce of pomposity in him.”

He said Judge Scott had done a lot of work in reducing a large backlog of cases.