Police remember much-loved Shrewsbury officer killed in service 25 years ago
Colleagues of a police motorcyclist who died in service from Shrewsbury have paid tribute 25 years on from his death.
Father-of-four PC Dave Hopkins, aged 41, was killed in a road accident as he escorted a national cycle race through Worcestershire 25 years ago on Sunday.
PC Hopkins' funeral at the Abbey in Shrewsbury was attended by hundreds of people with an escort from his colleagues.
West Mercia Police Federation of rank and file officers have remembered their colleague in an emotional tribute.
The father-of-four, from Copthorne, had served as a police officer for almost 23 years.
Barry Horton, who chairs the federation branch said: “The thoughts of everyone at West Mercia Police Federation are with Dave’s family, friends and former colleagues.
“His service to the public and his dedication to policing will never be forgotten.”
PC Hopkins was helping to clear traffic as the riders approached Malvern when he was fatally injured in a head-on collision on May 28, 1998.
On the West Mercia Police Dogs Twitter account PC Hopkins was remembered as a "real gent, and is sorely missed by his family, and everyone who knew him.
During his funeral uniformed police lined the streets of Shrewsbury for the funeral of the Kidderminster-born police motorcyclist .
The funeral procession approached the Abbey Church along Abbey Foregate, headed by a cortege of three police motorcyclists with another three bikes bringing up the rear.
About 60 officers stood on either side of the road and then followed the rest of the mourners in for the service yesterday.
The public also braved the weather to see the procession arrived and Constable Hopkins’ coffin carried into the church.
Close friends and relatives, including his wife and four children, then went on to a private service at Shrewsbury Crematorium.
During the service Chief Constable David Blakey commended Mr Hopkins for his dedication to the police force and to his family.
PC Hopkins had been married with a 15-month-old son and three teenage children from a previous marriage.
Pc Hopkins, who joined West Mercia in 1975, was based at Shrewsbury and had been with the force’s traffic department since 1991.
Chris Boardman, Britain’s number one cyclist at the time was quoted as saying: “The riders were devastated.”
