A memorial plaque to PC Jeff Tooley, killed in a hit-and-run crash, was unveiled yesterday at the police station where he was based.

Brighton, Hove and Shoreham police chaplain the Rev Stephen Terry said the plaque at Shoreham police station would be a permanent reminder of the fallen officer and how life was an "uncertain business".

He said: "If officers can remember Jeff as they go about their daily work then I think they will probably do their work better."

The plaque is on a wall inside the station and was the result of a collection by colleagues and friends.

Dockerills, the ironmonger, made the plaque and donated it free of charge. The money collected will now be given to a special school.

The plague reads: "In memory of Jeff Tooley, Constable CT 485, born 11 February, 1973, fell 24 April, 1999... When one of us falls, the rest of us stumble."

Attending the ceremony were PC Tooley's mother, Veronica, his grandparents, Yvonne and Fred Tooley, his brothers, Christopher and Russell, and police colleagues.

Prime Minister Tony Blair last month unveiled another memorial to PC Tooley on Brighton Road, Shoreham, where the 26-year-old traffic officer was hit.

Police driving past the spot slow down as a mark of respect.

PC Tooley was knocked down and killed by driver John Heaton, 47, who was jailed for seven years after admitting causing death by dangerous driving. The term was reduced to five years after an appeal. Heaton, of Newmarket Road, Brighton, drove off and set fire to the van at Devil's Dyke to try to destroy the evidence that he was behind the wheel.

Three days later he gave himself up and claimed he had nodded off because he was tired and had been drinking.

The sentencing comments of Chichester Crown Court judge Anthony Thorpe helped spark the Argus Justice for Jeff campaign for increased sentencing powers in such cases.

He said the maximum punishment for the offence was ten years, compared with 14 years for burglary.