Penny Lancaster has recalled the “special” moment she shared with the widow of Pc Andrew Harper during a charity hike in the Lake District.
The former model and wife of singer Sir Rod Stewart took part in the Light the Lakes annual fundraising event which has so far raised more than £30,000 for the Care of Police Survivors (COPS) charity.
Lancaster, who recently joined City of London Police as a special constable, recalled her conversation with Lissie Harper in an interview with Hello! magazine.
The 50-year-old said: “Lissie said to me that Andrew would have loved to have done this climb with her, and I said to her: ‘He is, he’s with you now. And when we’re at the top of the mountain, you’ll be closer to him still.’
“We held the flares and hugged and remembered Andrew and all the others. It was really special.”
Thames Valley Police traffic officer Pc Harper, 28, died in Berkshire in 2019 after becoming caught in a strap attached to the back of a car containing three individuals fleeing the scene of a quad bike theft.
He was killed four weeks after their wedding.
In the interview, Lancaster also recalled scaling the peak of Lingmoor Fell and helping to light 2,000 flares shortly before dawn.
She said: “It was a magical experience. When we reached the top, it felt like we were on another planet, it was almost deafeningly silent.
“The climb was uplifting, heart-warming and touching and it was challenging on many levels, but so rewarding. It needed to be tough otherwise we wouldn’t have felt that grit and determination.
“We could see the lights from the other peaks. There were streams of smoke where the flares had gone out, which looked like early morning mist. It was really special.”
Lancaster, who qualified as a special constable two months ago, said Sir Rod and their sons Alastair, 15, and Aiden, 10, had been supportive of her career move.
She said: “I want to show my boys that it’s important to be whatever you want to be in life and fulfil every part of yourself, even if it’s considered dangerous.
“I always have excitement and butterflies for my days on duty – it’s my biggest thrill each week.”
Read the full interview in Hello! magazine, out now.
