Gangland friends and showbiz stars last night paid tribute to Reggie Kray after the notorious East End crime lord died in his sleep from bladder cancer.

Reggie, 66, spent his last hours in the honeymoon suite at the Beefeater Town House Hotel, Thorpe St Andrew, near Norwich, where he has been since his release from jail on compassionate grounds.

But the convicted killer died without being able to fulfil his dying wish - a countryside stroll with his wife, Roberta, 41.

Mrs Kray held a bedside vigil for Reggie while friends and former cohorts Freddie Foreman and Jerry Powell were believed to be at his side when he passed away.

Reggie and his twin brother Ronnie established a reign of terror over London's underworld in the 1960s.

Home Secretary Jack Straw finally agreed to free Reggie because of his illness in August - 30 years after he was sentenced to life at the Old Bailey for stabbing to death fellow gangster Jack "The Hat" McVitie.

His lawyer, Mark Goldstein, said: "The hotel was chosen because it was near a river. It was hoped that he and Mrs Kray could go for walk but because of the illness that never transpired."

Details of the funeral have not yet being released but Mr Goldstein said it was likely to be "a very big occasion".

Actress Barbara Windsor described Reggie as "charming and polite", adding: "It's a great loss. People knocked me for talking about him, but you can only speak as you find."

EastEnders star Martin Kemp, who played Ronnie in the 1990 movie The Krays, said: "My sympathy goes to his family and friends."

Tony Lambrianou, who was jailed for his part in McVitie's murder, said the Krays would not be remembered as evil. "They done unto those what they would have done to them and this involved other villains."

Ronnie Kray died in prison from a heart attack in 1995 while the twins' elder brother, Charlie, died in April this year, aged 73.

Folk hero and villain - Page