A young motorcyclist who died in a mid Essex crash was an off-duty police officer.

Adam Burfield, 24, of Clarence Close, Chelmer Village, Chelmsford, had been a constable with Essex Police for three-and-a-half years.

He lived alone but was engaged to be married to a woman living locally.

His parents, who live in Norfolk, were on holiday in Cyprus when the tragedy happened and had to be contacted there with the terrible news.

The crash took place on Sunday when Mr Burfield was riding his Suzuki 600 Solo motorcycle along the A414 Ongar Road, near Writtle.

At 12.45pm, he collided with a VW Polo driven by a 25-year-old man from Hoddesdon and a Ford Mondeo driven by a 28-year-old man from Ardleigh. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Mr Burfield had been based in the Thurrock police division in south Essex.

Thurrock divisional commander Supt Ian Gruneberg said: "Adam's family and friends, as well as his colleagues, are stunned by his untimely death.

"He was showing real potential as an officer and could well have served either within the CID or the mobile support division in future years.

"The sympathy of his friends and colleagues is extended to his family."

In his short service, he had received a number of letters of appreciation from the public as well as his divisional commander.

His colleagues described him as an officer with great potential who was highly motivated to provide the best service for the community.

Last month, another off-duty Essex Police officer died on a county road. PC Rod Daniels, 53, was killed on the A12 at Kelvedon as he tried to guide traffic around the scene of an accident.

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.