More than 830 people people have now joined a Facebook tribute page dedicated to young Trowbridge policeman Dan Cooper, who died when his patrol car crashed into a tree near Bradford on Avon on Monday night.

Yesterday, PC Cooper's parents Heather and Andrew, who he lived with in Beanacre, near Melksham, as well as his younger brother Ollie, 18, paid tribute to their "beautiful son", who died doing a job they said he both loved and believed in.

They said they had been comforted by the hundreds of messages posted on Facebook following his death on Monday.

It has been announced that PC Cooper's funeral will be on Tuesday, January 16 at St Michael's Church in Melksham, from 11am. The family said that anyone who knew him is welcome to attend.

PC Cooper's former colleague and friend Dave Thompson was the man behind the Facebook memorial page.

The former officer, who lives in Calne, said: “I worked with Dan at Trowbridge police station for about a year in 2008, shortly after he became an officer. I was acting sergeant there when he joined the team.

“There were about eight of us who went for a curry and a beer every month, we called ourselves the curry boys.

“He was very professional and mature beyond his years. You could tell he was exceptional and that he was going to go far. You never saw him without a smile on his face. He was so enthusiastic about everything.”

PC Cooper's boss, Inspector Dave Cullop, of Trowbridge police, added his tribute yesterday, saying: “Dan was a very professional caring officer who was highly regarded by his colleagues and the community he served.

“He had already demonstrated that he had high potential for the future and this tragedy has cut short a very promising career. He will be deeply missed by everyone.” Friends and staff at The Corsham School, where PC Cooper studied from Year 7 until he finished his A-levels were also left shocked and saddened at his death.

Schoolfriend Geoff Biddall, 22, who has just joined the police force, had known PC Cooper since they were 12.

Talking about their most recent meeting, he said: “We talked about the police force and he was doing really, really well.

“He had just finished a pursuit driving course and was really excited about it, which got me excited because I joined the police this week.”

Mr Biddall said he was on his second day of training on Tuesday when he found out that a police officer had died.

He said: “I asked my trainer to check who it was as I had a bad feeling and then it came back that it had been Dan. Even after the sergeant confirmed it to me, I still gave Dan’s phone a call in the crazy hope that he would answer.”

Corsham School headteacher Martin Williams said PC Cooper’s death was a tragedy.

“He was determined to join the police from a young age, he always said it was his perfect job being in a position to help others," he said.

PC Cooper was said to have loved animals, especially his family’s three-year-old labrador Harvey.

His paternal grandparents Roy and Maureen live in Stoke, and his mother’s parents Graham and Shirley, who have recently moved to Melksham, are all devastated by his loss.

His family said he had initially had his heart set on a career in the military and wanted to follow in the footsteps of his father, who served in the RAF, but after a week spent gaining experience with the air force in Suffolk realised he would prefer to join the police force.

While studying history, psychology, sociology and economics at Corsham School he was also a member of Rudloe Air Cadets and played rugby and athletics for them.