Police team bed push in memory of fallen colleague

A team of police officers taking part in an annual charity bed push want to raise "as much money as possible" in memory of a colleague killed earlier this year.

PC Rosie Prior, 45, died in January when she was hit by a lorry, after stopping to help a motorist on the A19 at Bagby, North Yorkshire.

Six of her colleagues are taking part in the annual Knaresborough Bed Race later, to raise funds for the Police Children's Charity, which will help support Ms Prior's sons until they are 25.

Insp Holly Nicholls, captain of the team, said: "We're running in Rosie's name and we will proudly wear her collar number on our running vests."

The bed race, now in its 56th year, attracts about 30,0000 spectators.

The event is a mix of fancy-dress pageant and gruelling time trial over a 2.4-mile (3.8km) course.

A total of 90 teams of six runners and a passenger take part, ending with a swim across the River Nidd.

Insp Nicholls, who grew up in the Knaresborough area, said: "The race is a huge community event and it's really important to me as a neighbourhood inspector that we as a police team are involved in it.

She said the death of Ms Prior was "felt by both the force and the family".

"Her death touched everybody and so we are running in her memory and we feel really proud to be doing that," she said.

Speaking about preparations for the gruelling feat, Insp Nicholls said: "We've been training for about eight weeks, through the river, up and down the hills.

"But it's been a challenge, because of our hours and shifts - I underestimated how hard it would be to get six cops around a bed to get our training in."

The officers will be decked out in special vests designed by one of the team.

Insp Nicholls said: "It's a police vest with a thin blue line on with our North Yorkshire insignia.

"But the really special part about it is we've got Rosie Prior's collar number on our shoulder."

The team have set a fundraising target of £2,500, for what Insp Nicholls described as an "amazing charity".

She said she had spoken to Ms Prior's husband who told her the support from the Police Children's Charity had "been really fantastic".

"So that gave me the motivation to move forward and know we're doing it for a good cause," she added.

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