The father of murdered schoolgirl Sarah Payne has died at the age of 45.

Michael Payne was found dead at his first-floor flat in Maidstone, Kent where he lived alone.

He had spent years battling alcohol addiction following his daughter’s tragic murder in 2000.

Eight-year-old Sarah was abducted by paedophile Roy Whiting as she played in a field outside her grandparents’ rural home in Kingston Gorse, West Sussex in July 2000.

Her brutal death remains one of Britain’s highest profile child murders and led to the introduction of Sarah’s Law following a lengthy campaign by her mother.

Whiting was jailed for life in 2011 and is held at HMP Wakefield, dubbed the Monster Mansion due to the number of high risk sex offenders imprisoned there.

Whiting had previously been convicted of abducting and indecently assaulting an young girl before Sarah’s murder.

Three years after Sarah’s murder, her father admitted his marriage had collapsed after he and his wife Sara struggled with their grief as the loss of their beloved daughter tore apart their 18-year marriage.

Sarah Payne
Sarah Payne

His ex-wife Sara Payne last night tweeted a link to a report of her former husband’s death.

Michael Payne’s children paid tribute to him following his tragic death.

Son Lee, 27, a personal trainer from Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, wrote on his public Facebook page: “Dad, you had your demons and troubles but you had a good heart and was a decent man!

"I hope you have found peace at last! RIP, you will be missed. We are all heartbroken.”

Daughter Charlotte, 19, of Hersham wrote on Facebook: “Heartbroken to say the least, no matter what happened and how many mistakes we all made. You will always be my Daddy.”

It is understood that police are not treating Michael’s death as suspicious.

A neighbour said: “The police were concerned for his welfare and forced their way in to his flat a few days ago.”

As news of his death was made public, condolences started pouring in on the social networking site.

“R.I.P Michael Payne. Reunited with your beautiful Sarah at last,” tweeted @LeahMummy.

Twitter user Abby Kildunne @Abby_7 said: “Wow, sad news about Michael Payne. Years of being unable to cope with the loss of a child has literally destroyed him.”