The police officer who was killed while investigating a reported burglary was dragged along the road by a vehicle after getting out of his car, police said on Friday.

Ten people including a 13-year-old boy have been arrested on suspicion of murder after PC Andrew Harper’s death while investigating a reported burglary in Berkshire.

At a press conference on Friday afternoon, chief constable John Campbell said that Harper, 28, had got married four weeks ago.

Campbell added that a postmortem was currently underway and that the cause of death had not yet been established. He said that he did not know why Harper was out of his police car.

Thames Valley police said the suspects, all male, were aged between 13 and 30 and were being held in custody. They were arrested at a number of locations, Campbell said.

PC Harper, from the roads policing proactive unit based at Abingdon police station, was a “highly regarded, popular member of the team,” Campbell said. “It’s felt very personally.”

It was a “terrible day” for the police force, Campbell said. But he added: “It doesn’t touch the loss that Andrew’s friends and families are feeling.”

He revealed that PC Harper had been attending the reported burglary with a crewmate and said that flags above police force buildings were flying at half mast.

Family members remembered Harper warmly. His uncle, Dale Shrimpton, posted on Facebook that he was “the loveliest person that you will ever meet,” adding: “I can’t begin to tell you how we feel.”

His grandmother, Maureen Shrimpton, said she was “so proud of him” and that it was “a really horrible day”.

The incident happened at about 11.30pm on Thursday near the A4, Bath Road, between Reading and Newbury, at the crossroads of Ufton Lane and Lambdens Hill near the village of Sulhamstead. Thanking police, fire and ambulance service who attended for their professionalism, he said it was “an extremely distressing scene.”

The Thames Valley deputy chief constable, Jason Hogg, said: “Our deepest thoughts at this time are of course with Andrew’s friends and family, who are being supported by specially trained family liaison officers.

“Our thoughts also extend to all of Andrew’s colleagues within Thames Valley police. As a force we are devastated at the loss of our colleague and will all be supporting each other at this difficult time.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Forensic investigators examine a car at the scene. Photograph: Sky News

The local news website BerkshireLive reported shortly after 7am on Friday that Bath Road had been closed for more than six hours after an incident. It quoted one witness as saying eight or more police cars were at the junction and another four were nearby. Helicopter and dog searches were under way, the witness said.

At midday, officers were still gathering evidence at the scene. Two white tents had been erected and forensic investigators could be seen gathering items from the road and taking photographs. Police were also searching the inside of a grey BMW at the scene, witnesses said.

The senior investigating officer, DCI Stuart Blaik, urged anyone with information to contact police.

“This is a tragic incident, and I would like to reassure the public as well as our officers and staff that we have launched a full and thorough investigation to establish what has happened,” Blaik said. “We have made a total of 10 arrests in connection with this incident, and those arrested are currently in police custody. Those arrested are all male and aged between 13 and 30.”

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said it had been made aware of the death as routine procedure but no investigation was currently under way.

Play Video 0:46 Killing of PC Andrew Harper is a 'mindless and brutal crime', says Boris Johnson – video

Boris Johnson, said he was “deeply shocked and appalled” by the death of the “brave” police officer.

“My thoughts are with PC Harper’s family, friends and colleagues at this terrible time,” the prime minister said. “It is the most powerful reminder that police officers up and down the country put themselves at risk every single day to keep us safe. They have my absolute support.”

The local MP, Alok Sharma, tweeted that Harper’s death was “dreadfully sad news”.

Jeremy Corbyn said during a visit to Machynlleth in Wales: “I’m totally shocked at Andrew Harper’s death, and my immediate thoughts are condolences to his family and to his colleagues who must be going through some awful moments at the present time.

“Let’s just think for a moment of the horror of it, but also for the need for more police officers to be able to respond to disorder in our society, but also the problem … of violence that is growing.”

Andy Fiddler, from the Thames Valley police federation, which represents rank and file officers, said: “This is totally devastating news. All our thoughts – and the thoughts of the entire police family across the UK – are with the family, friends and close colleagues of PC Andrew Harper who died last night.

“Police officers go to work each and every day to do their duty. We are courageous, caring and compassionate. Sadly on very rare and horrendous occasions a colleague makes the ultimate sacrifice. We will ensure that heroism is never forgotten.”



He said the federation was offering full support to Harper’s family and colleagues.