Off-duty cop planning to move in with partner
AN OFF duty Cheshire police officer killed in the Manchester bomb attack was about to move in with her partner in Widnes after falling in love.
Frodsham friend and neighbour Raynor Clement said Detective Constable Elaine McIver, 43, had found happiness with her boyfriend Paul.
They were at the Ariana Grande concert with Paul’s children from a previous relationship when they were caught in the blast which claimed a total of 22 innocent lives.
Paul is recovering from his injuries. The condition of the children is unknown.
Mrs Clement, who met her neighbour 10 years ago after moving into their Frodsham cul de sac, is shocked, saddened and disgusted at what happened to Elaine, who grew up in Ellesmere Port.
She and her husband Mark knew Elaine well and had even been introduced to her partner Paul.
“They had known each other about a year or two. She was about to sell her house to live with him in Widnes. It was becoming serious.
“That was the first time we had seen her in a long-term relationship,” said Mrs Clement, who lives opposite and has seen Elaine’s bereft parents taking flowers left on the doorstep inside the property.
Mrs Clement added: “She was a nice person, a lovely person and a happy person and people felt safe with her on our cul de sac because she was a police woman.”
She recalled how the pair of them went along to a 1980s themed party at The Forest Hills Hotel about four years ago.
“She was such a lovely, nice person and I invited her to my wedding,” added Mrs Clement. “It’s more of a shock than anything. You don’t expect something like this to happen on your doorstep. When we found out on Wednesday night we couldn’t believe it.”
Mrs Clement said Elaine was member of the gym at Forest Hills where she enjoyed taking part in relaxation classes such as tai chi and yoga.
Originally from Manchester, Mrs Clement said of the terrorist act: “It’s disgusting. People, including young kids, were on a ● night out and their lives were lost.”
Mrs Clement was feeling a ‘bit scared’ about returning to her home city on Friday evening (May 26) but recognised the positives around the ‘Manchester spirit’ that had seen everyone pull together on the night and subsequently.
Mother of 15-year-old Graziela and 10-year-old Francesca, Mrs Clement said her older daughter had been frantic with worry about five friends who attended the concert when she struggled to make contact but, thankfully, it turned out they were all fine.
However, the girls were ‘really upset’ after she and her husband broke the tragic news about Elaine.