'Suicide' Pc had been grieving for mother

A popular policeman twice named the Met's community constable of the year was said to have been trying to come to terms with the death of his mother when he apparently took his own life.

The body of Pc John Johnson was found in the Thames near Waterloo, five days after his abandoned bicycle was found on Battersea bridge.

Friends of the 52-year-old told how his mother had recently died at her home in Cardiff after a long illness. The Pc had made several trips from his home in Lavender Hill to help ease her suffering.

The former public schoolboy, who was at Oxford University for a year, was unmarried and looking forward to his retirement in 18 months but his mother's death cast a shadow over his life.

He was also said to be worried about his own illness, caused by blood-poisoning after a bout of appendicitis was wrongly diagnosed as gall bladder stones. Pc Johnson had only returned to work a few weeks ago and his weight was said to have fallen dramatically.

A close friend said: "The nursing support he was paying [for his mother] was pretty expensive. He was trying to reduce that by looking after her himself. It put an extra strain on him. He had also been very ill. He had been on a long period of sick leave. He may have been depressed about that."

Pc Johnson was a member of several societies in Battersea, including the Rotary club and deanery synod of his church, as well as that of the diocese of Southwark. He was friends with Battersea MP Martin Linton and the Bishop of Southwark, Dr Thomas Butler.

The friend added: "You can't say that his mother's death made him jump from Battersea bridge, but it was something that obviously affected him."

The death of Pc Johnson, who patrolled the same beat for most of his 29 years of service with the Met, was said to be a "great loss" to the force.

Wandsworth borough commander Stewart Low said: "John was a wellliked officer and his untimely death has shocked a great number of officers. It is a bitter blow to us all."