POLICE is appealing for help from members of the public about the movements of the man who shot dead an off-duty police officer in Clacton.

Officers believe people who were in the Chelmsford area on July 9 and 10 hold the key to finalising the police investigation into the killer’s movements.

Police had initially been contacted shortly after 3.30pm on Monday, July 9 following reports of gunfire from Fairlop Close in Clacton.

Officers arrived and found 41-year-old Pc Ian Dibell from Redbridge Road dead after having been shot in the chest.

A 48-year-old man from the town had been conveyed to Colchester General Hospital with leg injuries. He is now recovering at home.

Police believe the gunman was Peter Reeve. The 64-year-old man from Fairlop Close in Clacton left the seaside town and was seen in Chelmsford shortly after 9pm that Monday night.

Senior Investigating Officer, DCI Simon Parkes, said: “We know Peter Reeve got a train from Colchester to Chelmsford at approximately 7.30pm on Monday, July 9 and tried to visit friends and family in the Melbourne area a couple of hours later.

“We then have no further sightings until we found his body in the grounds of All Saints Church in Writtle at 8:30am the following morning (Tuesday). This was after a gunshot was heard.

“We need to find out how Peter Reeve got to Colchester and how he came to be in Writtle on Tuesday morning. We would wish to speak with anyone who put him up for the night or saw him sleeping rough.”

CCTV images of the train journey are not being released.

Anyone with information in connection with this ongoing murder investigation is urged to contact detectives at Colchester’s Major Investigation Team on 101 or email scdappeals@essex.pnn.police.uk