By Andrew Clarke

Published at 15:51, Wednesday, 02 March 2011

THREE Cumbrian police officers have been honoured by Prince Charles at a ceremony in London.

Clarence house reception: Three Cumbrian family liaison officers meet Prince Charles: DI Marshall is to Prince Charles' left, PC Bowman is to his right, and DC Thomas is pictured centre

The officers attended a special reception at Clarence House hosted by the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall where family liaison officers (FLOs) from across the UK were recognised for their outstanding work.

FLOs are specially-trained police investigators who work closely with the family of victims of crimes where there has been a death.

The three officers representing Cumbria Constabulary were PC Richard Bowman, DC Sandra Thomas and DI Doug Marshall.

DI Marshall is the force’s FLO co-ordinator and was involved with the families who lost relatives as a result of the shootings by Derrick Bird last June.

DC Thomas, from West Cumbria CID, volunteered to be the FLO for the family of PC Bill Barker, who lost his life when a bridge collapsed under him during the severe flooding in November 2009.

PC Bowman, from North Cumbria Road Policing Unit based in Carlisle, has been involved with the families of fatal road traffic collisions, including the school coach crash on the A66 in May last year.

Chief Cons Craig Mackey said: “I am very proud of the way all my officers and staff have pulled together in some of the most exceptional and challenging set of incidents that Cumbria has had to deal with.

“The role of FLO is not one that is widely publicised and yet they have been at the forefront of supporting the community and those families who have been caught up in these traumatic events.”

Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk