A Lancashire police officer is preparing to run a half marathon, in memory of a colleague who died last year.

Chief superintendent Wendy Bower is set to run the Great Manchester Run, a half marathon, in memory of former assistant chief constable Peter Lawson, who died at his home in December.

He was laid to rest in Chorley on December 29, surrounded by his family, friends, and colleagues following a sombre police guard of honour from Chorley police station to Charnock Richard. 

Shortly before his death, a good friend and colleague Wendy had retired but was planning to fulfil a lifelong ambition to run a half marathon.

For 27 years, Wendy and Pete had worked together across the county to keep Lancashire safe. Wendy had served in the army prior to joining Lancashire Police in 1997, while Pete had started fresh-faced as a young bobby on immediate response.

Over the years, they would work alongside one another in all three divisions of the county on immediate response, specialist operations policing, and at large-scale public events.

When Pete took the seat as the executive chair of the multi-agency Lancashire Resilience Forum (LRF) in 2021, Wendy was there to support him, already being the established chair of the general purposes group. 

In 2023, Wendy was awarded a lifetime achievement award for her contributions to policing, by the British Association of Women in Policing.

In the months after Pete’s passing, Wendy stayed in close contact with his family, and keen to support them in honouring Pete’s memory, took the chance and signed up for the Great Manchester Run - a half marathon, in May 2024. 

She has set up a fundraising page ahead of the run.

Speaking of her decision to run, she said: “To honour Pete's memory and to scratch my itch to run a half marathon, I have entered the Great Manchester Run and I have decided to try and raise some much-needed cash for the British Heart Foundation (BHF). 

“The BHF fund around £100million of research each year into all heart and circulatory diseases, whether that be stroke, diabetes, heart disease or vascular dementia – they’re all under the microscope and they need the public’s help to raise funds for their research, and to support individuals and families dealing with these conditions.

“Pete was, and still is an important part of our lives. Our police family take care of one another when we’re on the beat, and when we stand down for the last time.

“I'm aiming high for the fundraising target at £2060 - which was Pete's collar number. It will be an absolute honour to run in memory of a thoroughly decent man and much-missed friend and raise some funds for a great cause”.

Jayne Lawson, Pete's widow said: "I truly miss Peter every moment of every day and cannot believe how this could ever have happened to us in what was a most uplifting chapter in our lives. 

"Any research that might help prevent this from happening to anybody else, then I am 100 per cent behind it."