Belper scuba diver Neil Fears' daughter pays tribute to 'kind and caring father'

The daughter of a scuba diver who died while exploring a shipwreck off the Spanish coast has paid tribute to her "very kind and caring" father.

Neil Fears, 51, from Belper in Derbyshire, failed to surface on Tuesday afternoon while exploring near to the 1916 wreck of First World War ship SS Stanfield, which sunk in Cabo de Palos, near La Manga, in southern Spain.

His body was recovered approximately three hours after he was reported missing

His daughter Cerys said: "He was always there if I needed him for whatever situation, he'd do anything to look after his family.

"He was very hardworking and could be very determined. My boyfriend said he was strong and ambitious, but he was also very kind and caring, generous and very clever.

"He was quite blunt in a good way, he liked to get straight to the point and didn't mess around."

A spokesman for the Guardia Civil in Murcia said: "Two pairs of divers set off around 11am. One pair returned.

"A diver from the other pair said that while he was under water, he turned to his partner and realised he wasn't there.

"The divers reported him missing and a specialist diving search team was deployed around 2pm. He was found around 5pm and returned to shore by 6pm and taken for a post-mortem examination."