'Strong leader' against adversity

Mr Cramphorn was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2004

When Colin Cramphorn joined West Yorkshire Police he could never have known he would lead the force through its most testing times in recent years.

The force was rocked by the fatal shootings of two officers - Pc Ian Broadhurst and Pc Sharon Beshenivsky.

And the eyes of the world fell on the region in 2005 after it was discovered the men behind the 7 July London terror attacks were from West Yorkshire.

He left the force in 2006 to fight his own personal battle against cancer.

But during four years spent at the helm, colleagues said Mr Cramphorn provided "strength and leadership" during difficult times.

Tom McGhie, of the West Yorkshire Police Federation, said: "When Mr Cramphorn first came to West Yorkshire we were under the scrutiny of the Police Standards Unit and we have gone from one of the worst performing forces to one of the best performing forces.

"I think that is a lot to do with his leadership."

Mr Cramphorn said Pc Broadhurst was a 'bright star'

Mr Cramphorn, a former deputy chief constable and acting chief constable of Northern Ireland's police service, was appointed to the position in West Yorkshire in 2002.

On Boxing Day 2003 one of his officers, Pc Ian Broadhurst, was shot dead at point blank range during a routine check on a stolen vehicle in Leeds.

Speaking at Mr Broadhurst's funeral in January 2004, the chief constable described him as a "bright star who brought light into the lives of all he came into contact with".

And just over a year later, Mr Cramphorn was to lose a second police officer, Pc Sharon Beshenivsky, who was shot during a bungled robbery in Bradford.

At the time, the police chief said he had "searched his soul" about what could have been done to prevent Mrs Beshenivsky being killed and her colleague, Pc Theresa Millburn being injured.

But colleagues said the chief provided strength to a force struggling to cope with the loss of a fellow officer.

Mr McGhie said: "In the aftermath of the death of Sharon Beshenivsky, he went to Bradford and spoke to all the police staff involved.

The police chief comforted officers after the death of Pc Beshenivsky

"He spent lots of time with them, he wears his heart on his chest and was emotional with them, he laughed with them and cried with them, he listened to all they had to say.

"That was at a time when he was himself very ill."

Thrust into the spotlight after the 7 July terror attacks, Mr Cramphorn urged the public to "stay alert but don't be unduly alarmed".

But he warned another 7/7-style attack was possible.

He said: "The pace and depth of our counter-terrorist operations in West Yorkshire is the evidence which says that further attacks are not just fanciful, they are very possible.

"These attacks may be local, they may be further afield or they may indeed be focused on other parts of the world."