PC Christopher Hart, 40, a fishing enthusiast, suffered serious head injuries and died at the scene when the police van he was driving was in collision with a VW Polo.

PC Hart and another officer were responding to an incident when the collision happened at the junction of Allenshaw Way, Ashton Road and Pottery Lane in Oakenshaw.

The response officer, based in Bury, was trapped between the van and the roadway when his vehicle overturned after the collision and hit a traffic light.

His colleague, 34, escaped with minor injuries as did the three people in the Polo.

PC Hart's parents, Dorothy and Michael Hart, who live in Ulverston, Cumbria, said: "Chris was a real outdoor type with a passion for fishing, for which he won many trophies when he was a junior.

"Chris passed these skills on to his six-year-old son.

"He had a strong and loving relationship with his son and Chris will be greatly missed by his family and colleagues."

Devoted

Chief Superintendent Jon Rush said: “Chris had been brought up within the Bury area, he has a six year old son and was a devoted father. He joined the force just over four years ago, since then he had developed into a highly professional and motivated officer. This was a tragic incident that has claimed the life of a dedicated service officer and a well loved father.

"He was serving the community when he died, it was a job he loved and he was well known and respected for the enthusiastic and passionate way he policed the community. His colleagues are understandably very upset at the loss of a work colleague and friend in such circumstances. We’re doing all we can to support them and his family at this stage.”

Born and brought up in Bury, PC Hart was a keen angler and had worked in the butchery trade and local shops before joining the force at a late stage.

“His family are absolutely devastated, his son has got to go through the rest of his life without a father to support and guide him.”

Officers who were working on the shift with PC Hart on Saturday night were unable to continue and were sent home. An investigation is underway into the causes, but it is understood the officers were returning to Bury after conveying some detainees to the central Custody Unit at Longsight.

“At the moment we’re looking into the details, Chris was outside his policing area, so we’re trying to establish what it was they were responding to.”

The Superintendent confirmed police officers receive driving training, but not the same level as traffic police.

Assistant Chief Constable Justine Curran said: "This is a tragic incident in which a serving officer with Greater Manchester Police has lost his life.

"Our thoughts are now with his family and colleagues and we are offering them every support."

Respected

Chris Burrows, of the Greater Manchester Police Federation said: "We are mourning the loss of a respected colleague and father. All our thoughts are with his family at this time."

* In a separate incident, a GMP officer was suspended from driving duty after crashing into a car and careering into a family's garden on Friday night.

The officer's van collided with a Citroen ZX in Farnworth, Bolton, before it entered an unfenced garden and collided with six people, none of whom were seriously hurt, though an eight-year-old-boy sustained bruising.

Read more about the accident via the link on the right of this page.

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