HOWZAT

The bishop added: “Michael’s funeral was on Good Friday. Today, mindful of the family’s loss of a loving and loved husband, father and brother, we honour their privacy and respect their space – as we surround Carolyn, and Catherine, David and Matthew with our presence and our prayers”.

David Whatton, the Acting Chief Constable, and a personal friend, was also determined in his tribute to portray Mr Todd as a family man. “From our Monday morning conversations, I knew Michael was very proud of his family and loved them very much,” he said.

He described Mr Todd as a charismatic man who “never hid in a corner”. The one thing you did not say to him was “you would not do that...” He recalled the time Mr Todd put himself up to be shot by Taser gun for a bet, the proceeds of which went to charity.

Mr Whatton singled out one letter written to him by a member of the public who wrote: “His achievements will not be diminished by the circumstances of his death, neither will his weakness colour his reputation. He was a copper’s copper but he was human. His dedication will still shine as an example to the force”.

Ken Jones, president of the Association of Chief Police Offices, said it was sad that some had rushed to judge a man he described as an extraordinary and exceptional leader.

The coroner for north Wales has opened in inquest into the circumstances of Mr Todd’s sudden death on the mountainside. Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary has also opened an investigation, at the request of GMP, into whether the private life of the man known as “the chief” affected his public duties.

Each will probe a number of apparently harrowing e-mail messages which he sent as he climbed Snowdon in a blizzard. One is believed to have been sent to Angie Robinson, 50, the chief executive of Greater Manchester chamber of commerce with whom Mr Todd had a three year affair.

At the service the Right Reverend Tony Porter, the Bishop of Sherwood, attracted wry laughter when he said: “Michael’s family loved him to bits but don’t worry they knew he was no saint. The nearest he got to St Michael was when he bought his sandwiches from Marks and Spencer. But they still loved him to bits and loved him when he was in bits”.

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