TRIBUTES have been paid to a retired Huddersfield police officer who died in a crash at an accident blackspot in Spain.

John Douglas Miller, who was known as ‘Dusty,’ was on holiday when the car he was in was involved in a smash with another car and a truck on the CV 95 highway near San Miguel, Alicante.

His wife, Anne, was left in a coma after suffering multiple injuries.

Several people from Huddersfield have holiday villas and apartments in that area.

Mr Miller, 76, started working for the then Huddersfield Borough Police in 1955.

A former apprentice engineer and RAF man, he served in the town centre and Moldgreen, before moving into CID and later becoming a coroner’s officer, a position he held for five-and-a-half years. He became a sergeant in 1968.

Former police officer Billy Kaye, 78, of Almondbury, served with Mr Miller for most of his 30 year career.

He said: “John was in the police when I started in 1957 and I got to know him really well.

“He was a great police officer, a big burley type who played rugby union with the old boys’ team and football.

“He was a great lad – really good company.

“When he became a coroner’s officer we used to joke with him that dealing with so many different deaths turned him into a hypochondriac.

“It’s a shock to hear how he died.”

Former Huddersfield detective Gary Haigh said: “John was a gregarious character, really good company, a very likeable personality.

“He was just a good old fashioned bobby. He was really good with people, both in the job and outside it.

“I was really shocked to hear what had happened and extremely sad for his family.’’

Mr Miller, who spent most of his life in Huddersfield, lived in a police house in Moldgreen opposite the police station after joining the force, before moving to Highburton.

After retiring, he was presented with a long-service medal by the then Lord Lieutenant of West Yorkshire Kenneth Hargreaves.

As well as playing rugby for Huddersfield Rugby Union Club, Yorkshire Police and North of England Police, Mr Miller played bowls for Almondbury Conservative Club and helped to form a police brass band.

He moved to Crigglestone, Wakefield, several years ago.

Witnesses said the car in which the Millers were travelling was about to join the CV 95 from another road when they were hit by the truck on September 22.

Firefighters had to cut the Millers – and two other passengers who suffered minor injuries – from their vehicle.

As well as emergency services staff on the ground, an emergency helicopter was called in which transferred the seriously injured to the General Hospital of Alicante.

Medical staff later said Mr Miller had died almost immediately.

The accident took place at an accident blackspot where at least four other accidents happened during the summer. According to reports in Spain, works to improve safety at the junction were approved in 2007 but later put on hold because of the economic crisis.

Spanish police are investigating.

Huddersfield Coroners’ Office has opened an inquest into Mr Miller’s death. Funeral arrangements have yet to be confirmed.

A spokeswoman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said it was offering consular assistance to the family.

As well as his wife, Mr Miller leaves daughters Jayne, Elizabeth and Claire and four grandchildren.