PC's legacy drives surge in demand for charity

A charity championed by the family of an off-duty PC who was killed after she helped at the scene of a crash said it has seen a rise in demand for help.

PC Rosie Prior, 45, had come to the aid of a driver on the verge of the A19 at Bagby, North Yorkshire, on 11 January last year, when they were both hit by a lorry and killed.

Patrick Cairns, chief executive of the Police Children's Charity, which supports police families, said the public response to her death had boosted funds and encouraged others to get support.

Meanwhile, to mark the one-year anniversary of her death, North Yorkshire Police said a service had been held where a plaque in honour of the officer was unveiled in its memorial garden.

The Police Children's Charity, which has supported Prior's two sons, gives assistance to the children of police officers who have died or who have retired early for medical reasons, helping about 300 each year.

In the aftermath of her death, Cairns said there had been a "tidal wave of contributions", including a crowdfunding appeal before her funeral and money raised from a group of police officers who took part in the Knaresborough Bed Race.

He said this had led to a "significant boost" to the charity, with £35,000 raised in 2025 compared to £2,500 in 2024.

Cairns said the public response had not only boosted the charity's funds but also "highlighted our work and encouraged more families to come forward for help on behalf of their children or young people".

He said that Prior's husband Chris had approached the charity directly and was "determined that some good was going to come out of that awful unimaginable tragedy."

Cairns, also the chief executive of the Police Treatment Centres charity, added: "There's a temptation when there's an event of this significance that really captures the public attention that a year on, it almost recedes into the background because people get on with their lives.

"That's definitely not been the case for Rosie's family. They will have missed her every single day."

As well as the plaque, North Yorkshire Police said it had dedicated the conference facility at its headquarters in her memory.

Paying tribute, deputy chief constable Scott Bisset said: "Rosie was the very best of policing, putting the safety of others before her own in order to help people."

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