A well-known Bury St Edmunds dentist has died.

Peter Clinton, who ran a dental surgery in Hollow Road, Bury, is understood to have passed away on Monday.

A message on the surgery’s answerphone said: “The surgery is now closed until further notice due to the sad passing away of Mr Peter Clinton.

“For emergency day-time hours please call PALS [the Patient Advice and Liaison Service] on 0800 3896 819. For evenings and weekends please call the NHS 111 service.”

A spokesman for Suffolk police said: “Police were contacted shortly after 9.30am on Monday following concerns for the welfare of a man from the town.

“A short time later, the body of a local man in his 50s was found inside a residential property in Guildhall Street.

“The death is not being treated as suspicious and a file will be prepared for HM Coroner ahead of an inquest which will take place in due course.”

One of Mr Clinton’s patients, Liz Nice, said: “Peter was our family dentist for more than 20 years, first in Risbygate Street and then when he moved to Hollow Road.

“I only saw him just over a week ago for the first time in a long time and was due to see him again today [Wednesday].

“He was his usual warm, kind and friendly self, asking lots of questions about me and my family and really taking an interest in everything I’d been doing since I last saw him.

“He made going to the dentist a real pleasure as it was like going to visit an old friend.

“I was so very sad to hear of his death. He was just such a lovely man.”

Mr Clinton, from Guildhall Street in Bury, had been a keen runner, with a number of marathons under his belt including the London Marathon and the Two Oceans Marathon in South Africa.