Police officer dies

A Wiltshire police officer has died, while on duty after losing control of his car last night.

PC Daniel Cooper was driving a marked police vehicle whilst on duty travelling along Westwood Road towards Trowbridge when the car left the carriageway and collided with a tree.

Police say at the time he was providing assistance to help officers who were dealing with an ongoing incident.  Paramedics arrived quickly at the scene but PC Cooper sustained very serious injuries and sadly died.

PC Cooper was 22 years old and joined Wiltshire Police in May 2007. His family have been informed and we are providing our support at this difficult time.  PC Cooper's family request that no flowers are placed at the scene of the collision.

As a mark of respect the force flags will be flown at half mast.

Chief Superintendent Steve Hedley said: 'This is a tragic loss of a highly regarded and very popular young officer who was just at the beginning of his career of service to the public. It highlights the daily risks that our Police officers face as part of their role. We offer our most sincere condolences to Dan's family and are supporting them as best we can. His colleagues, many of whom are close friends, and the force as a whole are deeply saddened by his loss.'

PC Cooper was a trained police driver and a full investigation is underway to establish why his car left the road. The Health and Safety Executive and the Independent Police Complaints Commission have been informed as a matter of course.

Anyone who has any information regarding the collision is asked to please contact the Serious Collision Investigation Team on 0845 408 7000.