Police cycle challenge honours fallen colleagues

8 hours agoSamantha Whelan

BBC News, Yorkshire

Police officers have set off on an 180-mile cycle ride in honour of their colleagues who have died in the line of duty.

Six members of North Yorkshire Police left York to join hundreds of officers from across the country for the three-day Police Unity Tour, which ends with a ceremonial ride to the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.

Assistant Chief Officer Lisa Stitt is riding in memory of PC Rosie Prior, who was killed on the A19 in January after she stopped to help a driver, who also died in the crash.

Ms Stitt said she wanted to "ensure that the legacy and the memory of Rosie and the other nine colleagues who we've lost is forever etched in the memory of North Yorkshire Police".

Each rider taking part in the event will wear a wristband representing a member of the police force who has died in the line of duty.

"I'm honoured this year to have been selected to wear PC Rosie Prior's wristband," Ms Stitt said.

"I was also presented with this wristband in the presence of her husband, not too far from where we lost Rosie earlier this year.

"It was really emotional, I can't look at the band for too long because it does make me tear up."

PC Rosie Prior, 45, had stopped on the verge of the A19 in North Yorkshire at about 08:55 GMT on 11 January to help driver Ryan Welford when they were both struck by a lorry and killed.

Ms Stitt said she would be keeping PC Prior and the nine other colleagues who had died in her mind as she cycled.

"I think if we have that at the back of our memory, the pain of sitting in a saddle for two hundred miles over the next couple of days won't be there," she said.

"It's really about the people, it's about their legacy, and it's forever about supporting their family and their friends through the charity Care of Police Survivors."

The challenge will take the hundreds of cyclists through Worksop and Tamworth, ending with the national memorial service in Staffordshire.

There, the wristbands will be placed on the memorial in the presence of family members and friends of officers from across the UK.

The ride aims to help raise awareness of the Care of Police Survivors charity, which supports the families of police staff who have died.

PC Joshua Snaith is cycling in memory of another North Yorkshire Police officer, PC David Haigh.

PC Haigh, 29, was fatally shot near Harrogate by Barry Prudom in 1982.

"It's important that we remember those that have died in the line of duty and gave the ultimate sacrifice," PC Snaith said.

"No-one goes to work and expects to lose their life while at work, everyone's got a family at home.

And sadly those that are left behind suffer that ultimate pain.

"I've done this challenge for the last four years, and every year I sit there and think I've got no reason not to do it again."

The group will travel 80 miles on Friday, 80 miles on Saturday, and a further 20 miles on Sunday.