A WOMAN police officer, killed doing the job that made her so proud, was in line for a second commendation for her outstanding devotion to duty, it was revealed last night.

PC Alison Armitage, 29, died in hospital shortly after being run down by a stolen car during an investigation.

Last night, her mother, Lilian, from North Yorkshire, said: "We can't express the sadness we feel today for the loss of our daughter Alison.

"She was doing her very best in a career she loved and was very proud of."

PC Armitage was investigating a stolen car in Oldham with two male colleagues when the incident happened.

She was waiting for the vehicle, a Vauxhall Vectra, to be picked up by a tow company when a man returned to the car and climbed into it.

"The car then reversed into PC Armitage and she was knocked to the ground and went under the car and was critically injured," said a police spokesman.

She was taken to the Royal Oldham Hospital but lost her fight for life four hours later.

A single woman, PC Armitage had been promoted from police patrol to her force's Operational Support Unit just before Christmas.

Chief Superintendent Eric Hewitt said she had quickly established herself as a vital part of the team - and revealed he had been writing a recommendation that she be commended on the day she died. "She really became a key member of the team immediately and within a few weeks I had commended her for the outstanding part she played in the arrest of a crime gang," he said.

"Only yesterday I was writing another commendation for her. She was instrumental in the arrest of six men in an attempted armed robbery just a few days ago."

She will now receive the honour posthumously.

PC Armitage had spent five years on the beat in the Chadderton area of Oldham before being selected to join the special unit

Her parents Stuart and Lilian live at Appleton-le-Street near Malton in North Yorkshire, where Alison was a frequent visitor for family get-togethers.

The couple work as gardener and housekeeper for a wealthy local woman and yesterday they were still trying to come to terms with their daughter's death.

Chief Supt Hewitt described PC Armitage as one of the most popular officers in her division and said her friends and colleagues were very distressed at her death.

"She had a zest for life and her work that was truly infectious," he said. "She was really proud to be a police officer and I think she would love to just be remembered as a damn good police constable."

The two colleagues who were with her at the time of the incident saw her hit by the car and were spoken to by the force's Welfare Department before going home to their own families.

An 18-year-old man from the Abbeyhills area of Oldham has been arrested and last night was still being questioned.

l In December, PC Jon Ordell was killed in a hit-and-run incident as he carried out roadside speed checks in Margate, Kent.