THE family of 42-year-old Police Inspector John Woods who died on Tuesday following a two-vehicle smash near Beith have issued a statement describing him as a 'highly-respected colleague' who 'will be sadly missed'.

Around 1.30pm, Mr Woods was driving his Kia car northbound on the A736 Lochlibo Road just past Burnhouse Village when his vehicle was involved in a collision with an articulated lorry being driven southbound.

Emergency services attended but Mr Woods died at the scene.

Mr Woods was born in Glasgow in October 1972.The family moved to Irvine the following year where John later attended John Galt Primary School and Irvine Royal Academy before going to Glasgow University where he graduated with a Master of Arts Degree in French, German, History and Politics.

After gaining a teaching diploma at Jordanhill College he taught as a supply teacher in various Ayrshire schools before changing career and joining Strathclyde Police in 1996.

After serving at several police stations throughout Ayrshire he began to move up through the ranks and took up a Sergeant's post in Barrhead.

The father of three boys, John then moved to Aikenhead Road Station in Glasgow before moving to Force HQ at Pitt Street in Glasgow where he was promoted to the rank of Inspector.

For the past three years John occupied a vital role in the control room in Helen Street Station where he was largely responsible for deploying forces as required in response to emergency calls.

In a statement from his family today, they said: "John was highly respected by all his colleagues and will be sadly missed by all who knew and worked with him."

The 54-year-old driver of the lorry was uninjured but badly shaken.

Sergeant Kevin Blackley of the Divisional Road Policing Unit is appealing for any witnesses to the crash to contact Police Scotland on 101.