MERSEYSIDE fell silent today as thousands of police officers turned out to pay their respects to fallen Wirral policeman Dave Phillips.

Scores of uniformed officers from police forces across the country marched behind the hearse as it was led through Liverpool to the Anglican Cathedral.

The 34-year-old father-of-two was killed after being hit by a stolen truck while on duty on October 5.

His widow Jen, 28, led the procession of mourners through the city’s streets on Monday morning with the pipes and drums band of the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

Dressed in black, she walked behind her husband's coffin, which had been draped in a blue Merseyside Police force cloth, holding her seven-year-old daughter Abigail's hand as younger daughter Sophie, three, followed behind.

Six uniformed pallbearers – all PC Phillips’ colleagues – carried his coffin to the front of the cathedral before taking their seats.

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PC Phillips' widow Jen Phillips holds her daughter Abigail's hand with younger daughter Sophie carried behind. Picture by Paul Heaps.

His sister Hannah Whieldon led the emotional tributes, describing PC Phillips as a “true hero”.

She said the family have been “truly humbled and overwhelmed” by the outpouring of support and genuine grief that the public have shown since PC Phillips’ death last month.

She said he would be “pretty astounded” by today’s events.

“So many people here to celebrate the sheer force for good he was in his too short life, and to say goodbye to a man who was far too self-effacing to claim the title hero,” she said.

“He would never boast or brag about himself, or place himself above others, preferring instead a quiet, self-deprecating humour, but I will proudly claim that title for him, for no man embodied the spirit of true hero more.”

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Mrs Whieldon added: “I'm afraid to say that we his family cannot take credit for this awesome and spectacular farewell to our boy. We've had help from some incredible friends and some totally unexpected sources, but without doubt Dave ultimately takes credit for it all.

“After all, how many people have "the Lord is my Shepherd" stored on their phone purely to let their loved ones know what they want sung at their funeral? But that was Dave. Everything organised, nothing left to chance. But in the end some things were beyond his control. He would never have chosen this time to leave us.

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“We all need him so much, especially his wife and precious daughters, but he was called to be with God, where I have no doubt he his happily mowing the golf greens of heaven in preparation for a game, whilst keeping an eye out for us all.

“So, in true Dave style he made sure that today went exactly as he'd wish. Albeit on a scale he could never have dreamed of.”

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Inside the cathedral was adorned with blue and white flowers draped with blue ribbons to symbolise PC Phillips’ work in the force.

Dozens of candles were lit in an arrow shape behind his coffin which stood in the middle of the cathedral.

The service was led by the Reverend Lyndon Bannon, assistant priest at Willaston and assistant headteacher of Woodchurch Church of England High School.

Two framed pictures of PC Phillips with his family bookmarked the officer’s coffin.

One showed him holding hands with daughters Abigail and Sophie as they walked through a forest, the other showed a montage of the Phillips family.

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The Order of Service handed out to the congregation showed a picture of PC Phillips wearing his uniform and smiling.
Rev Bannon described PC Phillips as "a loving gentleman".

He said that, as an officer, he had "served the nation" and, like other officers, had put his life on the line every day.

Merseyside’s chief constable Sir Jon Murphy also paid tribute to PC Phillips.

He spoke of how he had joined the police to serve his local community, something he did “with dedication, with humility and with great courage”.

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Sir Jon added: “In serving his community Dave paid the ultimate sacrifice.  The public, not just of the Wirral and of Merseyside, but the whole of the country, has been outraged by his loss and the pain caused to his family, his friends and his colleagues. The public has shared our grief.
“On that terrible night Dave showed dedication to duty, he did everything in his power to keep the public safe, he acted in the finest traditions of the police service.  He too was brave.

“But Dave didn’t come home and the police service of the United Kingdom and beyond is here today to honour him.

“To honour him, and to show his wife Jen, his daughters Abigail and Sophie, his mum, his dad, sisters and wider family what he meant to us.

“While Dave didn’t come home, by any standards he has left his mark.  He has left a trace of what he was on all of us.”

After the service had ended, the family of PC Phillips left the cathedral for a private service.

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