by Gemma Constable

Money raised in memory of policeman Phillip Pratt has been presented to the Kent Air Ambulance.

His parents, Ted and Chris, and sister, Julia Lewis, presented the giant cheque for £3,466.33 to Stephen Johns,

fundraising support officer for the Kent Air Ambulance Trust, at Sittingbourne Police Station on Friday.

The money was donated by PC Pratt’s family, friends, colleagues and members of the public in lieu of flowers at his funeral.

PC Pratt, 26, was a uniformed emergency response officer working from Sheerness Police Station, who died on duty on June 14 after being struck by a car as he put out cones to divert traffic around an earlier accident in the Maidstone-bound carriageway of the A249, near the Bobbing Apple.

Julia praised the Kent Air Ambulance Trust for its work.

She said: “It was important for us to come here and do something positive in Phillip’s memory. We are extremely delighted that so many people have been so kind in raising money in his memory, including members of the public who didn’t even know Phillip.

“The Kent Air Ambulance is an extremely important service. It may not have been able to save Phillip but it saves countless lives each year.

“I’m extremely proud and I’m sure that if Phillip was here he would have been delighted.”

Mr Johns thanked the Pratt family and everyone who gave so generously. He said: “The Kent Air Ambulance is totally funded by donations from the public – it’s the people of Kent who keep it flying.

“It costs an average of £4,000 a day to keep the helicopter flying so this donation is enough to potentially save two or three lives.”

Area commander Ch Supt Alasdair Hope paid tribute to PC Pratt who, he said, had dedicated his life to protecting and serving the people of Kent.

“It is fitting that the money that has been raised in his memory will benefit other people, possibly in a similar situation,” he said.