A fundraising page for the police officer killed while investigating reports of a burglary has surged past £100,000 in just over a day.

PC Andrew Harper, 28, died late on Thursday night after being dragged along by a vehicle in the Berkshire village of Sulhamstead.

More than 6,000 people have so far contributed to an online fundraising effort by Thames Valley Police, which stood at £108,000 on Sunday evening.

It promises to “ensure that heroism is never forgotten” and that his family will decide what to do with the £120,000 cash target.

Messages left by the public have called PC Harper a “true hero” and a “courageous young man”, with one donor saying: “We owe our police so much. Never take them for granted.”

The constable’s own charity page – for a 20-mile obstacle course he was planning to do for children with cancer – has hit £18,000, smashing his £500 target.

Meanwhile, the clock is ticking on a police decision on whether to charge 10 males arrested over the officer’s suspected murder.

The group are aged between 13 and 30 and were detained at a nearby caravan park.

Police said they had been given an extra 36 hours to question them – that time is expected to expire overnight.

On Sunday, roads near the Four Houses Corner caravan park were shut as police scoured ditches for evidence near where the suspects were arrested.

A post-mortem found PC Harper died of multiple injuries after being dragged along by a vehicle.

Police said he was at the scene with another officer and was out of his car when the incident happened.

Flowers have been left at the roadside by colleagues and the public – one message reads: “Harps, I am truly gutted. A great cop, a great man, a great friend.

“There will always be a part of my heart missing now. RIP mate, love you.”

PC Harper was based at Abingdon police station in Oxfordshire and only got married to his wife Lissie in July – they were due to go on honeymoon next week.

His father, Philip, told Sky News the family was “absolutely devastated” and in a “bad place”.

Andrew Harper is the first police officer to die on duty since the stabbing to death of PC Keith Palmer in London in March 2017.

A former chief constable Sky News that the killing will make police officers across the country worried for their safety.

Sir Peter Fahy, who used to command Greater Manchester Police, said: “Officers always have it in the back of their mind that they do a risky job.

“But when an officer loses their life, when a colleague loses their life, it clearly shocks them and makes them think again about their own vulnerability.”

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