Thanking Adge - the Bath police officer who made a sick boy's 'cop for a day' dream come true
PC Adge Secker was awarded the British Empire Medal in the New Year Honours and it is not hard to see why. He has a reputation for going above and beyond as a police officer with the Avon and Somerset force. The story of what he did for a little boy desperately in need of a new heart is a prime example.
Watch: 'A Heart for PC Jayden'
Jayden Tomlinson-Parson was in a wheelchair at Midsomer Norton carnival when he met Adge. When he found out how much the four-year-old wanted to be a policeman himself, Adge decided to make his dream come true. Jayden became a cop-for-a-day on his fifth birthday on 23 November 2017.
He was given the all-star treatment. He had a ride in a police car, rode the horses, took part in riot training and even tried on the Chief Constable's cap.
It was a day to remember - made more poignant by the fact that Jayden suffered from a rare condition and was in desperate need of a heart transplant. His family feared that he would not live to see his next birthday if he didn't get the surgery.
The Bath police constable was happy to make it all happen. Adge told ITV News, "He's such a lovely, engaging, endearing little boy, and I thought 'this is an easy thing for us to do, let's make this kids dream come true'. Without this heart transplant, he might not get another opportunity to do it."
"You saved this family, you made us believe that people did care"
Sandra Cray says that Adge's intervention gave them new hope: "They made a little boy smile, and that's what he'll say to you, you know, but it's not, it's more than that. I don't know how many times I've got to tell him it's more than that. Adge, you saved this family, you made us believe that people did care."
In March 2018, news came that a heart had been found for Jayden. The five-year-old had a transplant and his family were no longer thinking about whether he would make his next birthday but began to plan for many years to come. Adge was in touch supporting the family throughout the whole process.
Adge is now retiring after nearly three decades in the force and he says meeting Jayden was a highlight. Life will never be normal for Jayden who is living with a heart transplant but he hopes one day to grow up to be just like Adge.
Jayden's family are now campaigning for more people to join the organ donor register so that other people can be given the 'gift of life', like him.