Fallen heroes cycle ride

Fiona Bone

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Officers and staff old and new will get peddling for charity as part of an event to raise money in memory of PCs Nicola Hughes and Fiona Bone.

The 80 people who are both serving and retired officers and staff will be taking part in the event from Buxton Police Station to GMP Force Headquarters on 9 November 2012.

They will be joining a group of five officers and their support crew from the Hillingdon Division of the Metropolitan Police. They are completing a 190-mile charity trek on their bikes from Westminster to Manchester to raise money for the North West Police Benevolent Fund in memory of the two fallen colleagues who were tragically killed on 18 September 2012.

PC Jackie Smithies, Secretary for the North West Police Benevolent Fund said: "This is a fantastic event to raise awareness and money for the fund to assist officers and their families in their time of need. Those officers and staff taking part are doing so on a voluntary basis."

The officers from the Hillingdon Partnership Tasking Team along with a support team will be cycling from Westminster Cathedral to Greater Manchester Police Headquarters where they will present the families of PCs Bone and Hughes with a charity cheque. The team will then patrol with officers from the North Manchester Division before their return to Hillingdon.

PC Smithies added: “When our own officers and staff heard about the event we received an overwhelming response from those wanting to take part in the final leg of the ride. It is humbling and heartening to see the strength of feeling of the police family throughout the country. We often find that officers forget when completing charity events that the North West Police Benevolent Fund is their charity so it is wonderful to see that these officers have been so touched that they want to raise these funds.”

PC Damian Goddard-Lane of the Hillingdon Partnership Tasking Force, said: “We are honoured to have had the opportunity to organise and take part in this event and have been overwhelmed by the support we have been offered by many individuals and companies. This has enabled us to support to our wider police family and bring people together during a difficult time while raising money for a charity that frequently gets forgotten.

“We have a target to raise £5,000 for the benevolent fund which we hope will go some way to supporting fellow officers and their families in their time of need.

“We are saddened with what has happened and our thoughts remain with PC Bone and PC Hughes’ families, friends and colleagues.”

The officers from the Metropolitan Police that are taking part in the cycle ride will be presented a special plaque to mark the occasion.

More information on the officers taking part from London can be found by visiting the following page: http://fallenheroescharitycycleride.weebly.com 

Information on the North West Police Benevolent Fund can be found by visiting: http://www.nwpbf.org