Partner Of Police Officer From Hastings Killed On Duty To Skydive For Air Ambulance Charity

The partner of a Kent Police officer who died after an on-duty collision is preparing to take on a sponsored skydive in aid of the air ambulance charity that cared for him following the crash.

Hannah Kitney's boyfriend of five years, PC Bradley Corke, died in March after the police vehicle he was driving was involved in a collision while responding to an emergency call in Farningham, near Swanley.

The officer, who was from Hastings, was airlifted to a London hospital by Air Ambulance Charity Kent Surrey Sussex (KSS), where he died two days later.

Hannah said receiving an alert from Bradley's smartwatch, which detected the impact and notified his emergency contacts, was the first indication that something had gone wrong.

She and her mother then made what she described as "the longest drive of my entire life" to be at his bedside.

Although Bradley's injuries proved fatal, Hannah said the rapid response from the air ambulance gave family and friends valuable time together before he passed away.

"It gave us time to adjust and time to spend time with him, and have that hope," she said.

"If the air ambulance weren't there for him we may not have ever got that."

Later this month, Hannah and her friend Katie Langley will complete a sponsored skydive to raise money for KSS.

She said the idea was suggested by Katie just a week after Bradley's death, and while she initially couldn't believe she had agreed to it, she now believes he would have found the challenge amusing.

"I think the thought of him not believing that we'd be doing that, that's what's motivated me to want to do it so much," she said.

More than £12,000 has already been raised through the fundraising campaign, adding to money previously raised by Bradley's family and friends.

Hannah described Bradley as someone who had always wanted to become a police officer because he wanted to help others.

"With Brad it was because he wanted to help people, because he wanted to do right," she said. "It wasn't a thing for himself, it was for other people."

An investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash remains ongoing.