Thousands line streets for second Manchester policewoman’s funeral

• The funeral of PC Fiona Bone has been held in Manchester

• PC Bone and colleague PC Nicola Hughes were killed in September while responding to a reported burglary

• The funeral of PC Hughes was held yesterday

The 32-year-old officer was planning her civil partnership ceremony and had become the adopted parent of her partner’s five-year-old daughter, when her life was violently taken, the service heard.

Police and public turned out in force to pay their respects at Manchester Cathedral to the officer who died in a gun and grenade attack in Hattersley, Tameside on 18 September, along

with colleague PC Nicola Hughes, 23, who was laid to rest on Wednesday.

Sergeant Stephen Miskell told mourners: “Fiona was wonderful. She was wonderful at keeping colleagues’ spirits high with her bubbly nature. She was wonderful about caring for others.

“Fiona represented the best that humanity has to offer the world but that makes her loss even greater.

Earlier, the main thoroughfare in Manchester city centre was lined with several thousand officers from across the UK and members of the public to see the passing cortege.

It was the second consecutive day the heart of Manchester had come to a standstill for the funeral of a police officer who died serving the city.

As the funeral cortege arrived at the cathedral spontaneous applause rang out and a lone Scottish bagpiper, detective sergeant Jim Gray, a fellow officer with Greater Manchester Police (GMP), played Flowers of the Forest, a traditional funeral lament.

Sir Alex Ferguson was among the 1,000 mourners inside the cathedral for the officer who was brought up in Scotland and regarded herself as Scottish.

PC Bone had met her partner, Clare Curran, through a mutual friend and she lived with Miss Curran and Miss Curran’s daughter, five-year-old Jessie in Sale, Cheshire.

Miss Curran asked PC Bone, often referred to as “Fi” during the service, to be her life partner in February and the two became engaged and were planning for their big day next May.

PC Bone used to say that picking Jessie up from school and giving her a hug was the “very best part of her day”.

She was happy in life after finding “love in Clare and fulfilment in Jessie.”

Jessie, dressed in pink and white, held her mother’s hand as they were led into the cathedral followed by PC Bone’s parents Paul and June, who live on the Isle of Man, and the officer’s sister Vicky.

Again hundreds of police and public gathered outside at the rear of the cathedral to stand in silence listening to the service relayed on loud speakers.

They heard that PC Bone joined GMP as a volunteer special constable in November 2005 and became a full-time officer in 2007 posted to Tameside division.

The chief constable of GMP, Sir Peter Fahy, said: “Like all new officers she saw life at its most raw, was alongside people at the worst moment of their lives and like all young officers no doubt protected her parents from the full story of what she saw and what she dealt with.

“While others often seem obsessed with policing in films, crime novels and fly on the wall documentaries, Fiona did it for real.

“It was in going about her duty in this quiet conscientious way that she met her death.”