Tributes have been paid to a ‘beautiful caring mother’ as a man appeared in court charged with her murder.

Claire Chick, previously known as Claire Butler, was found with serious injuries in West Hoe Road, Plymouth on Wednesday evening, January 22. She died later of her injuries in hospital.

The family of the 48-year-old nursing lecturer at Plymouth University have paid tribute to her, as specially trained officers continue to support her family.

Claire’s family have released the following tribute to her: “We are absolutely devastated and broken at the loss of our beautiful caring mother Claire Chick.

“She was the most beautiful lively soul and was there for everyone.

“Everyone who knew our mum had so much positive words to say about her. She was the life and soul of any place where she was. She loved to dance and sing even though she was pretty bad at it she had no shame in doing it in front of any audience.

“We will never get over this as a family, she was our glue and our go-to. We won't ever get the justice our mum deserves for this because no amount of justice will bring her back.

“We want to thank everyone for their kind words, and we invite anyone who knew her to share their memories of her. We also would like to remind the public she leaves behind five beautiful grandchildren who all refer to her as ‘a favourite grandma’. We ask you respect their privacy, and everyone remains respectful to them. She may be gone but her spirit will always remain alive. We love you mum, and we promise to make you proud.”

Senior investigating officer Detective Inspector Rob Smith said: “We continue to support Claire’s family at what is an extremely awful time for them. I would ask for their privacy to be respected and to allow them the space to grieve.

“While we continue with our enquiries into the incident, I would urge the public not to speculate but to contact us if they have any relevant information which has not yet been shared with us. You can do this by reporting through our Major Incident Public Portal here: https://mipp.police.uk/operation/50DC24S33-PO1

“Once again, we would like to thank the local community for their support throughout this incident. This has been an incredibly tough and understandably concerning time for the city.”

Paul Butler, 53, of Strangray Avenue in Plymouth, appeared before Plymouth Magistrates’ Court today (Monday) accused of killing 48-year-old Claire Chick on Wednesday, January 22.

Mr Butler, also charged with possession of a bladed article, was remanded in custody to appear at Plymouth Crown Court on Tuesday (tomorrow) for a bail hearing and on Friday, March 3.