TRIBUTES have been paid to a former churchwarden who was found dead earlier this month.

The body of Bernice Williams, aged 50, who had served at St Nicholas’s, in the village of Lutton, near Spalding, was discovered in her home in the village on 9 April, two days after her husband, Lawrence, also aged 50, was found dead in the same house.

Lincolnshire Police said that they were not looking for anyone else in connection with the deaths. Mrs Williams had been reported missing two weeks previously. The cause of her death has still to be established.

Mrs Williams, a mother of two, was a teacher at Sutton Bridge Westmere Community Primary School, five miles away. The executive head teacher, Karyn Wiles, said: “Bernice was a friendly, kind-hearted team member. She loved working with children, and had worked so hard to fulfil her dream of becoming a teacher. She always provided the very best for the children in her care, and will be sadly missed by our whole school community.”

The Vicar at St Nicholas’s, the Revd Jonathan Sibley, said that Mrs Williams had served for about two years at the church, and had stepped down about five years ago. He declined to comment further, saying that the police had asked him not to discuss the case.