Flag at Harrogate Police station flies half-mast in tribute to Manchester

Police officers have paid tribute to the victims of the Manchester terror attack on Monday (May 22) by flying the flag half-mast at Harrogate station.
The flag outside Harrogate Police Station. Picture: Sgt Paul CordingThe flag outside Harrogate Police Station. Picture: Sgt Paul Cording
The flag outside Harrogate Police Station. Picture: Sgt Paul Cording

The flag outside Harrogate Police Station on Beckwith Head Road has been lowered in respect of the 22 people killed and 59 others injured by the bombing.

Sergeant Paul Cording, Harrogate Roads and Traffic Policing Officer, paid tribute to both the victims and the emergency services who dealt with the incident.

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He said: "What we have to realise is that we are human beings, we put on a uniform but at the end of the day we are all human. My colleagues have been running towards this danger while others have been running away.

"My thoughts and the thoughts of my colleagues are with those affected. We have got people seeing things that no human being will probably see in their lifetime. We are human beings and we do need to look after each other.

"It's such a wide and varied job. We are the go to agency, because we work 24/7 if people have a problem they will generally ring us and people expect us.

"When you turn up to an incident some people see a yellow jacket and even if we have no knowledge of what's going on people expect us to take control. I've been to lots of road traffic collisions and I try not to get too personally involved but for the people involved in the incident my dealing with them will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

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"With something like what has happened in Manchester it's so far away from the norm for the UK and for policing that I have no doubt that it will stay with those involved forever.

"It really does epitomise for me what is great about Great Britain that everybody really does pull together in times of adversity."