Plymouth attack victim named

Claire Chick died in hospital

Tributes have been paid to a 48-year-old woman who died following a serious assault in Plymouth.

Claire Chick died in hospital in the early hours of Thursday 23 January after being found seriously injured on West Hoe Road on Wednesday evening.

Police arrested 53-year-old Paul Antony Butler on suspicion of murder on Thursday.

The victim's family have released a statment which says: "We are absolutely devastated and broken at the loss of our beautiful caring mother Claire Chick.

“She was the most beautiful lively soul and was there for everyone.

“Everyone who knew our mum had so much positive words to say about her. She was the life and soul of any place where she was. She loved to dance and sing even though she was pretty bad at it she had no shame in doing it in front of any audience.

“We will never get over this as a family, she was our glue and our go-to. We won't ever get the justice our mum deserves for this because no amount of justice will bring her back.

“We want to thank everyone for their kind words, and we invite anyone who knew her to share their memories of her. We also would like to remind the public she leaves behind five beautiful grandchildren who all refer to her as "a favourite grandma". We ask you respect their privacy, and everyone remains respectful to them. She may be gone but her spirit will always remain alive. We love you mum, and we promise to make you proud.”

A cordon was in place around West Hoe Street whilst extensive searches were carried out.

On Friday, the cordon was lifted and police were sent to the Marsh Mills area of the city.

Senior Investigating Officer Detective Inspector Rob Smith said: “We continue to support Claire’s family at what is an extremely awful time for them. I would ask for their privacy to be respected and to allow them the space to grieve.

“While we continue with our enquiries into the incident, I would urge the public not to speculate but to contact us if they have any relevant information which has not yet been shared with us. You can do this by reporting through our Major Incident Public Portal here: https://mipp.police.uk/operation/50DC24S33-PO1.

“Once again, we would like to thank the local community for their support throughout this incident. This has been an incredibly tough and understandably concerning time for the city."