A policeman was murdered in Stockport last night. PC Gareth Francis was on his way home from a night out with friends when he was attacked on Castle Street, Edgeley. He died in hospital. Two men have been arrested.
We shop on Castle Street all the time. It is just up the road from my church. I have been on it at night, on an evening out with friends.
I was desperate to leave South Africa in 1996 because of the violence. We heard many terrible stories while we lived there, and witnessed violence ourselves, upon occasion. I always thought it could happen to one of us while we lived there.
I never expected it to happen so close to home, here in the UK. We have a lot of petty crime but we feel safe walking the streets.
It is dreadful to think of that young man, a man who was valuable in his community, who made a difference, being killed as he walked home.
Such a tragic waste.
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