POLICE cricket teams took to the sports field to remember a former colleague.

The result of the second cricket match in memory of cancer victim PC Michael Wright, who was 43 when he died last year, was in doubt until the last over, when a Bishop Auckland XI triumphed over Crook station by the narrowest of margins.

The scores were level when, with Neighbourhood Watch co-ordinator John Raw and Detective Inspector Ted Edgar at the crease, the winning run came off a bye.

Durham's Chief Constable, George Hedges, was in the crowd at Crook Cricket Club, where PC Wright opened the batting for many years.

Nellie Wright presented her son's memorial trophy to Bishop Auckland captain Terry Ditchburn.

PC Wright, who left a wife, Diane, and four children, had worked in the Crook, Willington and Bishop Auckland areas for 23 of his 24 years' service.

A former head boy at Wolsingham Comprehensive School, he lived at Stanhope, where he served as a governor at Stanhope Barrington School.

He also played football for local teams, qualifying as a referee in 1982.

PC Wright's former boss, Inspector Graham Hall, said: "It was an excellent match and a wonderful way to remember a true sportsman."