'When I got shot I never heard from anyone in the police'

Campaign to receive recognition for injury-hit officers

- By Adam Toms

POLICE officers forced to quit due to injury have stepped up their campaign for a medal and much needed recognition.

They claim progress towards awarding commendations under the Conservative government ground to a halt after Labour won power more than a year ago.

Gary Pearson, 72, who guarded Pope John Paul II on a visit to Manchester in 1982, was shot in the face during a training exercise for bodyguards from Bahrain and Saudi Arabia in Northumberland's Kielder Forest in 1983.

He had plastic surgery and still has a metal plate in his head.

He wants details about the incident but Greater Manchester Police does not even have a record of his 18 years of service.

Gary, who suffered PTSD for five years after the shooting, has only his service helmet and cape as keepsakes. He suspects a Saudi-linked cover-up over the shooting.

Regret

He said: "When I got shot, I never saw or heard from anyone in the police. Until I walked back into the office in the February of 1984 and it was just a shock to everybody that I was there."