Barry Prudom manhunt: Plaques honour police officers killed by gunman

The plaques come 41 years after the North Yorkshire Police officers died while on duty

Memorials have been unveiled for two police officers shot dead by a multiple murderer in North Yorkshire.

PC David Haigh and Sgt David Winter were both murdered by Barry Prudom in 1982, resulting in the biggest manhunt in British police history.

To mark the officers' bravery, the Police Memorial Trust has installed two marble plaques.

PC Haigh's memorial is at Norwood Edge, near where he died, and Sgt Winter's is in Malton.

PC David Haigh was gunned down by Barry Prudom after encountering him near Norwood Edge

Annette Jukes, PC Haigh's widow, told the BBC: "It's a beautiful setting for us to reflect."

PC Haigh was also survived by his three sons Carl, Michael and Richard who were 11, eight and three at the time of their father's death.

PC Haigh, 29, was delivering a summons to a poacher in Washburn Valley on 17 June when it is believed he encountered "gun-obsessed" Prudom at Norwood Edge.

Sgt David Winter was killed by Prudom after he confronted him in Old Malton

His body was later found in his patrol car with a single gunshot wound to the head after he failed to respond to a colleague's radio call.

Afterwards Prudom, an electrician from Leeds, stormed the house of a farmer and his wife in Girton, Nottinghamshire, and shot them both in the head.

The woman survived but was left permanently brain damaged, according to reports.

The killings resulted in a 17-day manhunt involving nearly 1,000 armed police.

An officer searching for killer Barry Prudom during the manhunt in 1982

During the search, Sgt Winter, 31, approached Prudom in Old Malton on 28 June, and he too was shot dead.

During Sgt Winter's plaque unveiling, Det Supt Graeme Wright of North Yorkshire Police said: "Malton felt his loss painfully.

"It's vital we demonstrate to our colleagues that we remember those who have fallen."

Prudom was an expert in survival from his time in the Territorial SAS.

But he was kicked out of the force for being "temperamentally unsuitable", according to historic BBC news reports.

Prudom fatally shot himself on 4 July 1982 after police tracked him down and demanded he give himself up.