Penny Lancaster recalls the ‘special’ moment she shared with hero PC Andrew Harper’s widow Lissie during a charity hike in the Lake District
- Penny Lancaster, 50, took part in the Light the Lakes annual fundraising event
- PC Harper, 28, died in Berkshire in 2019 after becoming caught in strap attached to back of a car containing three individuals fleeing scene of a quad bike theft
- Recalled widow Lissie Harper saying he would’ve loved to have done climb too
- They ‘hugged and remembered Andrew and all the others’ in ‘special moment’
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 ex-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.
The 50-year-old, who recently joined City of London Police as a special constable, recalled her conversation with Lissie Harper in an interview with Hello! magazine.
She explained: ‘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.”‘
Penny Lancaster, 50, has recalled the ‘special’ moment she shared with the widow of PC Andrew Harper during a charity hike in the Lake District. Pictured, the ex-model as she appears in this week’s edition of Hello! magazine
PC Andrew Harper (pictured, with widow Lissie), 28, died in Berkshire in 2019 after becoming caught in strap attached to the back of a car containing three individuals fleeing the scene of a quad bike theft
‘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.
Penny Lancaster’s full interview can be read in Hello! magazine (pictured)
He was killed four weeks after their wedding.
In the interview, Penny also recalled scaling the peak of Lingmoor Fell and helping to light 2,000 flares shortly before dawn.
‘It was a magical experience,’ she said. ‘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.’
Teenage sweethearts the couple (pictured, together) had been together for twelve years and hoped to try for a baby after their honeymoon
Supportive husband: The TV personality and her musician husband are pictured on holiday together last year
Penny, 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.
‘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,’ she said.
‘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.