Sharing our grief

HELPING: (from left) Natalie Hughes, Joanne Terry from COPS and Kevin Hughes

THE aunt and uncle of murdered policewoman Nicola Hughes have raised over £1,000 for a family bereavement charity.

Kevin and Natalie Hughes lost their niece last September in the shocking episode in which PC Nicola and her colleague Fiona Bone were lured to a house in Hattersley and shot.

Kevin and Natalie began to raise money in Nicola’s memory for the Care of Police Survivors charity — COPS — which helps the families of officers who have died in the line of duty.

The couple held a bucket appeal at their local Asda, organised a non-uniform day at Holy Family School in Limehurst and held a fund-raising event at the Blackthorne Centre.

On Wednesday the couple handed a cheque for £1,050 over to Joanne Terry, a member of the fund-raising team at COPS.

Natalie said: “This fund-raising has helped us to grieve. It’s given us something to focus on and has helped us to cope with what happened. We’ve had so much support from the community, they’ve been fantastic.

“Nicola’s family and friends have all found their own way of coping, and hopefully when the court case comes to an end that will help too.”