PC David Phillips: Two men charged following murder

PC Phillips was mown down by a pick-up truck

PC Dave Phillips was killed trying to stop burglars (Merseyside Police)

Police have charged two men following the murder of PC David Phillips, who was killed as he tried to stop burglars in a stolen Mitsubishi pick-up truck in Merseyside.

Clayton Ronald Williams, 18, of Wheatland Lane, Wallasey, has been charged with murder and attempted section 18 wounding against PC Birkett, burglary and aggravated unauthorised taking of a motor vehicle.

A second man, Phillip Stuart, 30, of Mayfair Court, Oxton, has been charged with aggravated unauthorised taking of a motor vehicle and burglary

Both men will appear at Wirral Magistrates Court on Thursday 8 October.

PC Phillips, 34, was killed in Wallasey after a burglary at a sales and letting agency in nearby Birkenhead.

The police officer and a colleague carried out a 40-minute pursuit before deploying a “stinger” device to stop the Mitsubishi Challenger L200.

The vehicle then mounted a central reservation and mowed down the officer before speeding away.

His colleges performed CPR on PC Phillips on the scene, but he died a short time later at Arrowe Park Hospital on the Wirral.

PC Phillips was survived by his wife Jen Phillips, 28, and her children Abi, seven, and Sophie, three.

The bereaved family visited Dock Road in Wallasey to lay lilies beside a mass of floral tributes.

On the evening of Wednesday 7 October hundreds of people attended a candlelit vigil at New Brighton's Fort Perch Rock, Wirral.

Attendees observed a minute's silence as balloons were released into the night sky.

Those who had gathered erupted in applause in memory of the fallen officer.

The event had been publicised on Facebook.

An administrator wrote: “Sky is looking beautifully blue, wind has died down, is looking like a good night to shine bright, will have a poem read out while we light our candles and then a minutes silence for Pc David Phillips, let's light up to show our support and remember a true hero taken too soon and for all our wonderful officers who protect us day in day out.”

Following PC Phillips' death, almost £79,000 has been raised for a memorial fund set up by the Merseyside Police Federation, which looks set to exceed its target of £100,000.

Additional reporting by PA