Police remember fallen officers

More than 650 police officers have died in the line of duty

A memorial service has been held in north London to remember hundreds of Metropolitan Police officers who have died in the line of duty.

Scotland Yard Commissioner Sir Ian Blair and London mayor Ken Livingstone were among those attending the service at Hendon training school.

More than 650 police officers and staff have been killed in the force's 177 year history.

Wreaths and flowers were laid and a minute's silence observed.

Among the mourners was Kuldip Singh-Bedi, whose son, PC Pirthi Singh-Bedi, 24, died in a car crash in Hayes in December 2004 while he was off-duty.

Other high-profile deaths include that of Pc Kulwant Sidhu, who was killed when he fell through a glass skylight while chasing suspects across a roof in Twickenham, south-west London, in 1999.

Two years earlier Pc Nina Mackay was stabbed to death after forcing entry to a flat to arrest a man in Stratford.

A nationwide commemoration will be held in Belfast in October to mark National Police Memorial Day.