A police officer, who died responding to a 999 call, is being mourned by his old Leeds rugby teammates.
PC Andrew Bramma, 32, who went to school in Pudsey, was responding to the report of another crash when his van hit a tree in West Tanfield, near Ripon, on Saturday at around 7pm.
Leeds Rhinos rugby league star Jamie Jones-Buchanan, who played in the same Stanningley Amateur Rugby League Football Club side as PC Bramma as a youngster, is among those to offer their condolences to his family.
The 31-year-old second rower was introduced to rugby league by PC Bramma’s brother-in-law and the pair shared the field at Stanningley as teenagers.
Jones-Buchanan told the YEP: “When you play at an amateur club like Stanningley it’s quite a close-knit group and you bump into people in your local community.
“It was just real shock, my wife was in the year above him at his school and she just rang me and it was a real shock.
“It’s awful, it just brings it really close to home – my thoughts and prayers are with his family.”
He said the idea of doing a charity event in his memory has been suggested and that he would do anything to help.
The constable had served as a beat officer with Greater Manchester Police from 2008 and transferred back to his home county four months ago.
He was the only occupant of the van and was pronounced dead at the scene. He leaves a wife and two young sons.
Malcolm Banks, a committee member at Stanningley ARLFC, coached the youth team that PC Bramma played hooker in during the mid 1990s.
The 59-year-old, who has a son the same age as the constable, said: “It’s such a shock and I honestly, truthfully say from a friend to all the lads that everyone’s gutted. It was total shock, why do all the nice people go? He was a top, honest person.”
Since his death North Yorkshire Police has set up an online book of condolence and so far more than 500 people have left messages.
Visit: www.northyorkshire.police.uk/condolences for information.
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