Tributes have been paid to an "incredible paramedic", who has passed away suddenly leaving a wife and two children.

Nick Lee, 46, from Ovington, near Watton, died on December 3. He had worked for the East of England Ambulance Service since 2003 and was its leading operations manager for west Norfolk and hospital ambulance liaison officer at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn .

On a Gofundme page created to raised money for his family, friend Jane Foreman said: "Nick died suddenly leaving his wife Michelle and their children Megan and Thomas.

"He was a truly wonderful man and will leave a void in the lives of everyone who knew him.

"East of England Ambulance Service will never be the same without his large personality and fabulous Paramedic skills.

"I have created this page to try and ease the financial worries of his family, every penny donated will go to Michelle and the children to help fund the funeral and whatever else they need at this time."

Mr Lee's sister, Sarah Lee, said: "He was a lovely family man and he was very close to his mum, his sister, his nephew and nieces."

The fundraiser has received almost 500 donations and raised around £13,000.

Julie Ashman posted: "What a lovely man, just can’t believe this tragic news."

Rebecca Groom added: "You are loved by so many and will never be forgotten. I’m truly devastated."

Fellow paramedic Jake Kerry tweeted: "Incredible paramedic, incredible manager. A role model for all."

The East of England Ambulance Service said: "We are deeply saddened by the loss of our colleague Nick Lee and our condolences are with his family, friends and everyone he worked with.

“Nick was a much-respected colleague who had worked for EEAST in west Norfolk for 18 years and fulfilled every role with distinction, most recently as a leading operations manager.

“We recognise this is a difficult time for all our staff and are reminding them of the wellbeing support available and reaching out to those personally affected.”

Former Fakenham High School student Mr Lee grew up in Colkirk. Before becoming a paramedic, he served in the Royal Anglian Regiment from 1993 - 98 and went on tours to Ireland and Bosnia.

The Gofundme page in his memory is here.