Staff at a health centre have paid tribute to a 'kind and compassionate' GP who died suddenly last week.

Dr Hameed Khan, 68, a senior partner at Loughton Health Centre in The Drive, Loughton, passed away in the early hours of June 9 after suffering a heart attack.

Cricket fan Dr Khan, who came to the UK after qualifying as a doctor in 1973, worked in hospitals in Nottinghamshire, Ramsgate and Margate before settling in Epping Forest.

The father-of-two, who worked in the NHS for 40 years, joined the health centre in 1977.

NHS West Essex Clinical Commissioning Group spokeswoman, Amy Lyon, said: "It is with great sadness that staff at Loughton Health Centre announce the death of senior partner, Dr Hameed Khan.

"Dr Khan was committed to providing the highest standards of care for his patients.

"Throughout his career he demonstrated kindness and compassion to everyone he came into contact with.

"Dr Khan has always been, and will remain, a strong presence in the practice as well as in the lives he touched throughout his career.

"His dedication and devotion meant he built strong relationships with his patients and in some cases treated four generations of the same family.

"He will be sorely missed by his partners, colleagues and patients who have come to know him for his expertise, professionalism and above all, his entertaining sense of humour."

Dr Khan's funeral will take place on Friday (June 19) at 12.30pm at The City of London Crematorium in Aldersbrook Road, London.

The Loughton Health Centre will close at 11am on Friday.

In lieu of flowers, Dr Khan’s family are asking that donations be made to the Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Association, which was a cause close to his heart.