POLICE are quizzing the friends and family of a skydiver who plunged 13,000ft to his death to find out why someone deliberately sabotaged his parachute.

Stephen Hilder, died at Hibaldstow Airfield, North Lincolnshire, on Friday afternoon.

The cord on the 20-year-old's main parachute and the strapping on his reserve chute had been deliberately severed, say detectives from Humberside Police. They have launched a murder investigation.

"The main focus of the inquiry will be to try and build up a picture of Stephen's life and find out what sort of person he was," said a Humberside Police spokeswoman.

Tributes have been pouring in for the army cadet and veteran of more than 200 jumps whose parents live in Stretton Sugwas near Hereford.

Popular pupil

"He was one of the most popular people at school." said Gemma Brett, a student at University College Worcester who was a former school friend at the Bishop of Hereford Bluecoat School in the city.

"Everyone knew him and everyone liked him.

"He loved drama and music and he was a prefect at the school. He was one of the most intelligent people in our year, but he was modest with it.

"You were always hearing his name, winning awards and doing things for the school. I have never met a single person who disliked Stephen."

Andrew Marson, headteacher of "Bishops", said he had a "good sense of humour, was sociable and committed"

"His greatest love was music and drama. In fact, for his design technology project, he made tubular bells."

Stephen was studying management and logistics at the Royal Military College of Science at Shrivenham in Wiltshire. With the type of course he was studying, it is thought that he was likely to go into one of the technical Army corps.

"His death is a great loss to the Army. He would have been a great officer." said Lt Col Eric Sahappe from the Royal Military College of Science.