THE horrors of the past do not always signify anything to a new generation. At times such ignorance needs to be put right and the killing of sergeant David Winter is one such occasion.

Whoever wrecked the memorial bench near Malton police station could not have known or understood just what this brave and dedicated police officer did for his community.

Sgt Winter died in the course of duty after approaching a suspicious looking character in Old Malton. He was on patrol with another officer at the height of the hunt for gunman Barry Prudom, a search that gripped a horrified nation in 1982.

Sgt Winter's intuition had led him to Prudom, a piece of sharp-eyed policing that was to cost him his life. Prudom, who had killed twice before, fired three shots at Sgt Winter, killing him instantly.

Traffic and business came to a halt at Malton for Sgt Winter's funeral. North Yorkshire police colleagues lined Church Hill outside the Church of St Leonard and St Mary. As the cortege travelled along the main streets from the church to Malton Cemetery, traffic stopped and hundreds of people stood at the roadside.

The only sound was the tolling of a bell at St Leonard's.

To go from that display of dignified sorrow to a smashed memorial is to travel a long and sorry distance. Sgt Winter died for his community, a sacrifice which was acknowledged at his funeral by the Bishop of Middlesbrough, the Rt Rev Augustine Harris, who spoke of the supreme sacrifice made by this officer.

Sgt Winter died for those he served - and now someone from that same community has wrecked the memorial to his memory.

This disgraceful incident should remind us of the sacrifice made by Sgt Winter, who paid the ultimate price for his vigilance. And let us now see good come from this act of vandalism. Sgt Winter deserves to be remembered in the town he served and he deserves a more lasting memorial than a bench, preferably something made of durable stone.