Rattle on, you game fieldfares (From The Northern Echo)

Rattle on, you game fieldfares

12:09pm Saturday 21st November 2009 in

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THERE cannot be many jobs in this country where when you leave home in the morning you cannot be certain of returning safely when the work is done.

But Britain’s brave police officers face potentially life-threatening situations every day of their working lives.

PC Bill Barker was ushering motorists to safety when he was swept away by floods.

The 47-year-old father-of-four fell into the River Derwent when the bridge he was stood on was destroyed by the raging torrents in Workington.

PC Barker’s sacrifice demonstrates just how much we depend on the bravery of our emergency services – people who risk their lives in the service of the community.

Had the police, the fire service, the search-and-rescue teams and the RAF not braved the terrible weather yesterday the death toll would almost certainly have been far higher.

Just looking at the pictures of devastation in today’s paper it seems almost inconceivable that no one else died.

Of course, we should acknowledge the role played by the weather forecasters.

So often criticised for getting it wrong, this time the Met Office prediction was spot on. Its warnings gave people time to clear out before the floods arrived.

But most of all today we pay tribute to the courage of PC Bill Barker and the other emergency crews who risked their own lives to save others.

They give us not just their time and effort, but sometimes their lives as well.

Words alone cannot express how grateful we are to them.