Letter: Sympathy for relatives

Sir: In response to your article 'Road-crash relatives treated with disdain', I am a police constable with 14 years' service in the traffic division. During that time I have attended more than 100 fatal road accidents. I have had, on the majority of these occasions, to deal with the next of kin of those killed. It is not a pleasant task but one in which I take professional pride, to help the relatives through the initial stages of these traumatic times.

The comments made in the article are not the norm but the rare, adverse occasions that make headlines. The police service is not perfect, but it endeavours to produce a system that treats the relatives of road accident victims with courtesy and sympathy.

Yours sincerely,

IAN YARHAM

Thorpe Wood Police Station

Peterborough