Fundraising traffic cop retires after 24 years

Sgt Paul Cording is retiring after 24 years with North Yorkshire Police

A long-serving North Yorkshire Police officer is hanging up his handcuffs after 24 years, saying he has seen the “best and worst society has to offer” during his career.

Sgt Paul Cording, from Harrogate, joined the force in 2001 following 10 years in the RAF.

To mark his retirement, the 52-year-old last week completed a near 80-mile (130km) run in 24 hours to raise funds for Police Treatment Centres.

The non-profit organisation provides physiotherapy and rehabilitation for injured and sick police officers.

Sgt Cording ran 126.8km around his home town, with the distance covered a nod to his police collar number 1268.

Speaking ahead of the challenge, he said: “I've recently been to the Police Treatment Centre.

“Patching cops together to get them back out on the streets is what they do and they are very good at it.”

Sgt Cording was awarded a British Empire Medal in the King’s Birthday Honours last year

Sgt Cording was awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to policing and charity in the King’s Birthday Honours last year, which he said was one of his proudest moments.

He said: “It was incredible - I am very fortunate to be recognised for the work I’ve done but without the team around me and the support from home it would be nothing.”

With 16,000 followers on X, formerly Twitter, Sgt Cording said he saw an opening to spread the road safety message via social media.

He said: “We could share information with live time incidents and also ask for appeals.

“It gave us the opportunity to engage with the public and humanise us, get people to see us in a different way.”

Having previously worked in Response and Neighbourhood Policing, he joined the Roads Policing Unit in 2010 .

During a 14- year period as a traffic officer, Sgt Cording said he had worked at the scene of more than 100 fatal traffic collisions, and had seen “the absolute best and worst society has to offer.”

Following his final shift, Sgt Cording said he planned to enjoy the summer before deciding what to do next, though he hinted that more charity challenges would be high on the agenda.

Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail].