PC Andrew Harper's widow shares emotional letter on first wedding anniversary

The widow of PC Andrew Harper has written of her heartbreak at spending their first wedding anniversary without him.

The newlywed 28-year-old police officer was killed as he responded to a quad bike theft in Berkshire last year.

Three teenagers were convicted of his manslaughter following an Old Bailey trial, a lesser offence than murder, which his widow Lissie said left her “immensely disappointed”.

Writing on Facebook, Lissie reflected on the couple’s wedding day and said it felt “like only yesterday that I stood in front of a vision of hope and happiness and love”.

She said their first anniversary “should have been wildly different, instead of celebrating with you on our first anniversary, I am alone in utter disbelief”.

“I feel as though I have lost a limb, except it’s so much worse than that, because actually I’ve lost the best part of myself.”

She added: “I will spend the rest of my days never understanding the meaning of this cruelty, how the bad are allowed to live and the simply perfect souls are taken from this place of wondrous beauty, natural creations, injustice and bewildering pain.”

Henry Long, 19, and Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole, both 18, face jail for PC Harper’s manslaughter.

The officer became entangled in a tow rope attached to their Seat Toledo as he tried to stop them stealing a quad bike.

He was dragged for more than a mile and suffered catastrophic injuries.

Long, who the court heard drove off at “breakneck” speed, was cleared of murder at the Old Bailey on Friday but pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

All three teenagers say they did not know the officer was trapped in the rope and their defence said the incident was a “freak event” that could not have been foreseen.

The prosecution argued they must have known that PC Harper, standing at more than 6ft tall and weighing 14 stone, was tangled and being dragged.

The three are due to be sentenced on 31 July.