THE funeral of a former Gwent police detective sergeant who died after a boat capsized in Cardiff Bay will be held tomorrow.

Douglas Baker, 76, from Barrack Hill, Newport, died last Tuesday after the dinghy he was travelling in mysteriously overturned in calm conditions.

His brother-in-law, Ivyn James, 68, also from Barrack Hill, survived the accident. The pair had been heading to a yacht moored in the Bay when the boat overturned just after 1pm.

They spent half-an-hour clinging to a buoy and calling for help before being rescued by a fellow yachtsman.

But Mr Baker later died in hospital. He had been going to the Bay for over a year with Mr James, a qualified ship's captain, to keep him company on his yacht.

Mr Baker had served with Newport Borough Police and later Gwent Police from 1951 to 1978, serving in Pill, Maindee, and at police headquarters in Cwmbran.

He was a keen charity fundraiser and well-known on the Newport rugby scene.

Following his death tributes flooded in from friends, family and former police colleagues.

His son, Howard Baker, 42, said: "He was a big family man."

The funeral will be held tomorrow at St Paul's Church, Commercial Street, Newport at 11.15am with a cremation at Gwent Crematorium.