Harrogate policeman who became social media sensation takes on final phenomenal charity effort before retirement

Sgt Paul Cording first joined North Yorkshire Police in 2001 following 10 years in the RAF.

In 2023 the well-known Harrogate police officer, who became famous for using Twitter/X to update members of the public with various incidents that he has dealt with over the years, was awarded a British Empire Medal for his services to policing and charity in the King’s Birthday Honours.

This week saw him bid an emotional farewell to the job he loves.

But, with the clock ticking to his retirement, Sgt Cording couldn’t resist one final charity challenge before he hung up his boots for the last time.

This week saw Sgt Cording took on the challenge of running 126.8km in 24 hours.

Starting on Wednesday, as the respected and well liked police officer’s collar number is 1268, he aimed for a target of raising £1,268.

Having recently attended the Police Treatment Centres in Harrogate, Paul decided to dedicate his final fundraiser as a serving officer for the charity which supports injured and ill police officers.

Paul was well supported on his run, with friends, colleagues and even his physiotherapist Marie joining him for some laps.

He also had time to pop into the Centres for a refreshment break.

The Police Treatment Centres is a registered charity which operates two centres where injured and ill police officers receive intensive physiotherapy and recuperation treatments to help them return to work sooner.

The Centres (St Andrew’s in Harrogate and Castlebrae in Perthshire) cost almost £6.5 million per year to run and is supported primarily by donations from officers in the North of England, North Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Sgt Cording was promoted Sergeant in 2005 and, in 2010, swapped walking the beat for roads policing.

Having attended more than 100 fatal road traffic collisions and seen so much tragedy, Paul regularly visited schools across North Yorkshire to improve children’s awareness of road safety.

You can support Paul through his JustGiving page: https://www.justgiving.com/page/paul-cording-1716207563278?utm_campaign=lc_frp_share_transaction_fundraiser_page_donation_received_-_nth_donation&utm_content=fbc73144-84ad-4652-a966-3bc3a9f34205&utm_medium=email&utm_source=postoffice&utm_term=1718187025005