The Tuesday press day ended at 10.30pm and the combined total of six hours sleep in the past 48 meant the start of Wednesday triathlon was going to be a late one.

Unfortunately, the timing clashed with an aquarobics class and five of us in one lane was not the best experience, mostly for three of the others who had to put up with two of us constantly overtaking.

As I climbed on to the bikes I learnt Thames Valley Police (TVP) had lost another officer in a fatal road accident the previous evening. The tragic death of an officer while driving home from work, just a few miles away, is the second for the force since Christmas.

I was joined on the bike by an excellent cyclist who then mentioned he is a serving TVP officer. Unfortunately, he had not heard about the accident and a quick check of my phone found the force’s statement that had just been released and I had the difficult task of telling him that his colleague, PC Kevin Flint, with whom he had worked for the past two years, had died.

He was obviously shocked to hear and we continued while reflecting on the dramatic news. I completed my ride and he cut short his.

I set off on my 10km run feeling numb, knowing how many people will be affected by the tragic news. I completed the triathlon in sombre mood but also paying tribute to the officers and staff who also lost their lives on duty on this date. The names of those who died serving their communities on January 16 are:

1849 – Police Constable John King – Great Western Railway Police

1850 – Sub-Constable Bernard Rogan – Irish Constabulary

1932 – Police Constable Albert Millington – Liverpool City Police

1941 – Special Constable Wilmot Sedgley – Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Police

1950 – Police Constable William Ramage – Admiralty Constabulary

1964 – Police Constable John McKenzie – Lothian & Peebles Constabulary

1966 – Police Constable Kenneth Broughton – St Helens County Borough Police