Ten arrests after newlywed policeman dies after being dragged by vehicle

‘Highly regarded member of team’ killed while on burglary call-out

The police officer killed while attending reports of a burglary in Berkshire was a 28-year-old newlywed who was dragged along by a vehicle before he died.

It is understood 10 people have been arrested on suspicion of murder after PC Andrew Harper died following a “serious incident” at around 11.30pm on Thursday near the A4 Bath Road, between Reading and Newbury, at the village of Sulhamstead.

Thames Valley Police said boys and men aged between 13 and 30 remain in custody at various police stations in the force area.

At a press conference on yesterday, Chief Constable John Campbell said PC Harper was at the scene with a fellow officer and was out of his police car when the incident occurred, adding: “What we do know is Andrew had been dragged along by a vehicle.”

He said the suspects were detained within about an hour of the incident and officers are working “hard and diligently to find out what happened”.

A post-mortem examination is taking place to establish the cause of death.

Mr Campbell said that as it is a live investigation, only limited details can be provided at this stage.

He said PC Harper joined as a special constable in 2010 before becoming a police officer a year later, serving in the Roads Policing Proactive Unit based at Abingdon Police Station.

He added that the officer “only married four weeks ago”.

Pictures show the pair celebrating their wedding at Ardington House, a Georgian manor in Oxfordshire set in gardens and parkland.

Mr Campbell said PC Harper was a “highly regarded, popular member of the team”.

His death represents a “significant loss” to Thames Valley Police and “also to his colleagues and friends”.

Picture: PA. PC Andrew Harper, 28, and his wife Lissie on their wedding day.