Hundreds to attend memorial service for police chief

The widow of former Manchester police chief Michael Todd will join hundreds of people at a thanksgiving service on Friday, a month after his body was found on a remote Welsh mountain.

Carolyn Todd is due to attend the service at Manchester Cathedral with their children Catherine, 16, and 13-year-old twins David and Matthew.

Hundreds of officers, politicians and religious leaders will be among the congregation. The service will be relayed to the public on a big screen in Manchester's Exchange Square.

Mountain rescue teams found the body of the 50-year-old former Manchester chief constable in Snowdonia on March 11 after he was reported missing. A post mortem failed to determine how he died.

The force's Assistant Chief Constable Justine Curran, said she was "deeply honoured" that Todd's family would join the celebration of his life and career.

"We are delighted that so many representatives from policing, political and civic life will attend to pay tribute to our former chief," she said. "Officers and staff from all ranks and roles will be represented at the service, which is something Mr Todd would certainly have wanted."

Police will close several roads in the area between 9:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. The service starts at 11 a.m.

The Dean of Manchester, the Very Reverend Rogers Govender, will lead the service, which will include hymns, readings and a tribute from the force's Acting Chief Constable David Whatton.

"Michael was an excellent leader," Greater Manchester Police Authority chief Barbara Spicer said before the service. "Greater Manchester is a safer place thanks to him.

"The tributes which have poured in since his death are testament to the fact that he made a significant contribution to the face of policing. The thanksgiving service is a time to celebrate this contribution."