Dozens of friends and former pupils of a retired schoolteacher found murdered at her riverside cottage in Worcestershire have staged a candlelit vigil to pay their respects to her memory.

More than 60 people gathered to lay flowers and place candles on a bridge near the home of 77-year-old Betty Yates, who was found dead at her home near Bewdley on Wednesday.

Former colleagues of the much-loved pensioner - who was described as "everyone's favourite teacher" - also took part in the vigil close to a police cordon which remains in place around her home.

Mrs Yates, who taught generations of children in the Kidderminster area, was found stabbed at her home beside a track overlooking the River Severn near Bewdley after concerns were raised for her welfare.

Among those attending the vigil in her memory was a friend of Mrs Yates who had received flowers from the pensioner shortly before Christmas, and two cousins who were taught by her at Kidderminster's St John Middle School in 1992.

Fellow members of Bewdley Civic Society also turned out to remember Mrs Yates, who was well known locally for her involvement with book-reading and walking clubs, as well as the Wyre Forest's University of the Third Age.

Hayley Williams, who was taught by Mrs Yates in the mid-1980s, described her as an "amazing" teacher who was universally loved.

"She taught everybody whether they were in her class or not," Ms Williams, 38, said. "She just had this unique way of teaching and for whatever reason it worked."

Describing her reaction to news of Mrs Yates' murder as one of total shock, Ms Williams added: "I just couldn't believe it.

"Nobody deserves that but to find out it was such a much-loved member of the community - everybody knew her - just makes it even more tragic."