Extraordinary story of an extraordinary PC - by her extraordinary dad

HAPPY times . . . Bryn Hughes with his daughter Nicola

THE mind-numbing moment a father learned of the horrific murder of his young police officer daughter is revealed in a new book celebrating her life.

PC Nicola Hughes was killed in a gun attack after being lured with a false 999 call. Her death in December 2012, shocked the nation and stunned Saddleworth villagers, where she was a hugely popular girl. The Diggle 23 year old was murdered with colleague PC Fiona Bone by psychopathic criminal Dale Cregan.

Nicola’s father Bryn relives the dreadful moment in “An Extraordinary Sacrifice,” a book he has written which charts his daughter’s life.

He recalls first being visited after the tragedy and asked: “Please tell me what’s happened. Then that horrible realisation came.

“You know how the rest of the conversation is going to go but however hard you try there is nothing you can do to prevent what’s coming next.

“‘Don’t you dare tell me she’s dead,’ I said. ‘Not my Nicky, please not my little girl’.”

He talks candidly of the shock and grief, and the challenges the family has faced since her death — and describes the inspiring work of the memorial fund that bears his daughter’s name.

Mr Hughes, a former prison officer, says he constantly relives the memories of the dreadful day he lost Nicola and the events that followed. But the book is also an inspirational account of how the grieving father decided to pay tribute to his daughter by creating a force for good.

The PC Nicola Hughes Memorial Fund has since raised hundreds of thousands of pounds to help young people whose lives have been thrown into turmoil by the violent death of a close relative.

The fund provides support, educational opportunities and career training for young people bereaved by violent crime — and helps them to find hope.

“An Extraordinary Sacrifice” tells Nicola’s story from the joy of her birth through to the terrible circumstances of her death and the aftermath of pain and heartbreak.

PCs Hughes and Bone served in GMP’s Tameside Division stationed at Hyde.

Writing a forward in the book, the PC’s former Chief Supt Nick Adderley says: “Bryn talks about the love and the life Nicola gave to him and her family and of the support she gave to the countless others who were blessed with having met or worked with Nicola.

“He talks about the moments after he learned of his daughter’s murder as well as the weeks, months and years beyond — his life sentence.

“When most other people would understandably withdraw from society, Bryn Hughes was determined not to allow his daughter’s death to have been in vain. He is now determined to turn horror into hope for so many others.”

“An Extraordinary Sacrifice” is published by Mereo and will be sold in bookshops and at the Chronicle offices in Yorkshire Street later this month. All proceeds go to Nicola’s memorial fund.

It is also available as an ebook www.mereobooks.com.