Tributes to policeman who 'died of heart attack' at scene of domestic dispute

At the place where a policeman died on duty, the words of an anonymous author capture a mood of sombre gratitude.

This letter was left with a bouquet of flowers outside the house where father-of-three Chris Roberts collapsed with a heart attack after grappling with a man on a callout to a domestic dispute on Boxing Day.

The typed note salutes his sacrifice and praises the dedication of all police officers who "face whatever life throws at them".

"Today we mourn the loss of a brave man who was trying to make the community a safer place, so the rest of us were able to continue to enjoy our Christmas celebrations in peace."

Alongside the praise, there is anger, with a call for the Government to honour the police pay award which is currently threatening to escalate into a major dispute.

PC Roberts, 47, who joined the force 24 years ago, had been passed fit for duty despite being diagnosed with a heart condition last year.

He was called out shortly before 6pm on Wednesday to a disturbance at the home of a woman and her two young children in Wembley.

When he and his colleagues arrived the woman's ex-partner and father of her children allegedly became violent and attacked one of the officers.

As the man was arrested, PC Roberts collapsed in the front garden. Colleagues and paramedics tried to revive him for 45 minutes but he died at the scene.

A man in his thirties was arrested on suspicion of murder and remained in custody last night.

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Anonymous: The letter left with a bouquet of flowers at the scene of PC Robert's death

PC Roberts's wife and children were said to be devastated.

The initial call for help came from sales rep Rosemarie Stirling, 31, who lives in the rented semidetached home with her daughter aged ten and son aged four.

Her former partner Patrick Savage, 38, had called to give Christmas presents to the children.

Police sources said that officers had been called to domestic disputes involving Savage on several occasions before the couple split up in June.

"There has often been a lot of shouting and screaming in the night and the police have had to sort it out," said a neighbour.

Another neighbour described seeing PC Roberts collapsed on the ground.

He said: "There was a lot of police and a lot of noise. There was someone on the ground and there were people around him."

The officer worked with a 24-hour response team at Wembley and was said to have dedicated his career to being a uniformed constable.

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Police stand guard outside the house where their colleagues attended a domestic incident - one of them died at the scene

A Scotland Yard spokesman said he had been "involved in effecting the arrest" of Savage but had not been assaulted by him. Jan Berry, chairman of the Police Federation, said: "This is another tragedy where a police officer has paid the ultimate sacrifice. Police officers never know what dangers they may face when out on patrol."

Superintendent Geoff Ervine, of the Brent division, said: "He was a credit to his team, the borough and the Metropolitan Police as a whole.

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"Chris had an exemplary record.

"He had dealt with numerous incidents for which his professionalism has been recognised by his senior officer. He is a sad loss."

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair said: "I am deeply saddened by the death of one of my officers - a father of three - on duty and my thoughts go out to his family, friends and colleagues."

• An unemployed man will appear in court today charged over the domestic row that led to the death of Pc Chris Roberts. Patrick Savage, 34, of North Circular Road, is accused of one count of assaulting a woman, two counts of assaulting a police officer other than Pc Roberts, and one count of resisting officers.