Cheshire police officer held over murder of partner

A Cheshire Constabulary police officer has been arrested on suspicion of murdering his partner and fellow officer Claire Howarth who, died in a car crash in Greater Manchester.

PC Howarth, 31, served with GMP in the Rochdale area, and was driving a BMW which crashed on Thursday on Tottington Road, Harwood, where she lived.

Greater Manchester Police said they were investigating whether the officer was attacked before the accident.

The arrested officer, who is aged 26, is understood to be a serving memner of the Cheshire force and is due to be questioned by GMP detectives.

The pair were off duty at the time of the impact.

A GMP spokesperson said: "The woman was a serving officer who worked in the Rochdale area.

"Formal identification and a post-mortem examination are yet to take place.

"An investigation has been launched to establish how the victim sustained her injuries."

Ch Supt John O'Hare, Greater Manchester Police Greater Manchester Police paid tribute to Miss Howarth, who had just become a constable after being a student officer for two years.

Ch Supt John O'Hare said: "Claire was a really positive officer. She was highly-regarded by all her colleagues and myself.

"Claire had been handpicked to undertake a challenging role as a community beat manager and she was someone I had identified as an officer with the potential to go far in Greater Manchester Police and make a real difference.

"Our thoughts are with Claire's family and friends at this very difficult time and they are absolutely distraught, as we all are."

In November 2008 a member of the public wrote a letter to the force praising Miss Howarth for helping her 12-year-old daughter deal with school bullies.

The woman said Miss Howarth was a "total credit...we feel privileged to have people like her out there looking after us".

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