PC Fiona Bone: Father says she 'was always on the go'

Paul Bone said his daughter never spoke of the dangers of her job

Murdered PC Fiona Bone was "a lovely, bubbly person" who was always looking for her next challenge, according to her father, Paul.

After trying her hand at the film industry in the Isle of Man and a call centre in Manchester, she trained to become a special constable.

"She decided to go full-time and we'd have supported her whatever she wanted to join," said Mr Bone.

"She didn't like routine jobs, but she liked the variety of police life."

PC Bone, 32, died alongside PC Nicola Hughes, 23, when they were called to what appeared to be a routine burglary report in Mottram in September.

The unarmed officers were shot and attacked with a grenade by Dale Cregan, who received a whole life jail term after admitting their murders while on trial at Preston Crown Court.

'Active and mischievous'

At the time PC Bone had been in the middle of planning her wedding to her partner Clare.

Mr Bone said his daughter was an "active and mischievous" child who was always on the go - something that did not change as she grew up.

He said: "She did her Duke of Edinburgh's award, she liked to shoot and she liked to fly, she helped in an old people's home and she really liked that.

PC Bone had been planning her wedding when she was killed

"She played ladies rugby for the Vagabond's team on the Isle of Man and when she went to university she played for the women's rugby team.

"She decided to learn scuba diving and then gave that up and moved on to something else.

"But finding Clare and (Clare's daughter) Jessie satisfied her needs," said Mr Bone.

"She enjoyed teaching Jessie how to ride her bike and do things.

"She really enjoyed helping people."

And it is the support of the people she helped - and the wider community - that has helped the family cope with her loss.

"I don't think she realised the impact she was having on everyone, the people she had met in her normal course of duties," Mr Bone said.

"We've had letters of support from them, which I found moving and Fiona would have found impossible to believe."

Mr Bone said he was "overwhelmed" by the number of people who stood out in the rain during a vigil after the PCs were killed, saying it was "very moving".

He said she never spoke of the dangers of her job.

"In any job there is a risk, but being shot is usually not one of the ones we think of," he said.

"Police officers work like barristers, the next one in line gets the call.

"It was pure fluke that they went. It's just one of those random acts of fate.

'Always proud'

"We first saw it on the one o'clock news, that two people had been injured in Mottram, and we were just thinking to give Fiona a quick ring to see what's happening when there was a knock on the door and there were two policemen there.

"They said our daughter had died but said 'we really don't have any other information' so we offered them a cup of tea and sat down.

"We really didn't know what to say to each other.

"From then on we've been on a rollercoaster.

"When it first happened I used to say I wish Dr Who was real and we can ring him up and get the time machine and go back a bit and stop it all, but that's a wish and in reality, once it's happened there's nothing you can do, you've just got to carry on.

"But policing can't stop. The really brave people were the police that went out on duty that day after they knew people were shooting at people.

"The real heroes are the police that continued to work."

Mr Bone said the family tried to "support each other as much as we can".

"We occasionally watch videos taken at Christmas and see her drinking glasses of wine and mucking about and that's how we remember her.

"I was always proud of her and I really miss her every day.

"She was a lovely, bubbly person and we'll always have that in our hearts."