North and East Yorkshire officers pay respects to murdered policewoman (From Gazette & Herald)
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North and East Yorkshire officers pay respects to murdered policewoman Nicola Hughes
9:32am Thursday 4th October 2012 in News
By Jennifer Bell, Crime reporter
The coffin of PC Nicola Hughes, one of the two policewoman murdered in Manchester on September 18, is carried into Manchester Cathedral for her funeral service as colleagues from Greater Manchester Police form a Guard of Honour
OFF-DUTY police officers from North and East Yorkshire joined their colleagues in Manchester as thousands of mourners gathered to pay tribute to one of the officers killed in last month’s gun and grenade attack.
Fellow officers lined the route as the funeral cortege of 23-year-old PC Nicola Hughes ravelled from Deansgate, one of the city’s main thoroughfares, to Manchester Cathedral ahead of the service at 1pm yesterday.
PC Hughes died on September 18 alongside her colleague PC Fiona Bone after they were called to investigate a burglary in Mottram. PC Bone’s funeral will take place at the cathedral this morning.
Officers from Greater Manchester were joined by off-duty officers from North Yorkshire Police and Humberside Police and the other 44 forces across England and Wales, who helped take over duties in Manchester so colleagues of PC Hughes could say farewell to the officer described as “a lovely friend and a great bobby”.
Tim Madgwick, North Yorkshire Police’s temporary chief constable, was among the mourners who attended the funeral.
Mike Stubbs, deputy chairman of the North Yorkshire Police Federation, said: “The tragic deaths of these two young officers bring into sharp focus the very real dangers that police officers face on a daily basis as they work to protect our communities. Our thoughts are with their families, friends and colleagues.”
The funerals of PC Hughes and PC Bone came only days after the National Police Memorial Day service was held at York Minster to remember officers who lost their lives in the line of duty.
A campaign on Twitter led to about 2,300 officers from around the UK volunteering to go to Manchester on the day of the funerals to cover for their colleagues.
A number of forces also observed a 24-hour Twitter silence from noon yesterday out of respect. Wristbands have been produced by the Police Federation with the officers’ collar numbers and the date they died. The bands are on sale for £1 with all proceeds being donated to the families. A big screen broadcast the service for people outside in Cathedral Gardens, close to Manchester city centre.
Dale Cregan, 29, has been charged with the murders of the two officers and the murders of Mark Short, 23, in May and his father David, 46, in August.
