A WIFE has paid tribute to a "loving father and husband" who died while diving on a wreck off the Kent coast.

Marcus Spirgel-Sinclair, 41, of Grey Wethers, Sandling, near Maidstone, was diving on the German Submarine, UB 55, six miles off Dover when he indicated that something was wrong. He was brought to the surface where efforts to revive failed.

A lifeboat carried him ashore and he was then taken to hospital in Ashford where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Mr Spirgel-Sinclair, director of a Dover based mortgage and protection brokerage, was an experienced diver who had made more than 100 dives worldwide.

He moved to Maidstone in 1995 from Herne Bay with his wife Sharon whom he had known since he was 18 and married in St Lucia in 1981.

She said her husband would be sorely missed by all that knew him, especially his children Charlotte, 14, and Lewis 12.

She said: "He was a loving husband and father who loved spending time with his family. Everyone loved him to bits and he had a lot of friends."

Family friend Kevin Scott said Mr Spirgel-Sinclair's outgoing personality made him a pleasure to be around.

He said: "He was a man who loved life. He loved water skiing and was often angling at Herne Bay, unless he was playing golf badly elsewhere.

"He was the funniest person I knew and is completely irreplaceable. Once met, never forgotten, for all the right reasons.

"He was my closest friend for more than 20 years and will be greatly missed."

Friend and business partner Hugh Kennedy said: "He left an indelible impression on people and they would remember him years later even if they had only met him briefly.

"His sense of fun was incredibly infectious and I never laughed so much as when I was with him.

The tragedy happened on Saturday. An inquest will be held. The funeral is due to be held at St Mary's Church, Boxley, near Maidstone, on Tuesday, August 17, at 2pm.

Donations and flowers can be sent via Sears Funeral Service, Thornhill Place, Maidstone, who can be contacted on 01622 754663.