Michael Bruce with his ex-wife Janice Dick and 10-year-old son Micah

THE family of a police officer who collapsed and died while on duty are campaigning for mandatory heart checks for those working on the front line.

Michael Bruce, who lived in Archway, had spent six years as a member of the Metropolitan Police before he passed away two weeks ago.

The 48-year-old suffered a heart attack while he was on duty, leaving his family shocked and searching for answers.

His ex-wife Janice Dick, who is mother to their 10-year-old son Micah, said: “It’s just devastating when I think it could have been prevented. I think with annual heart health checks, and early detection, maybe things could have been different. I don’t want another family to have to go through this.”

Ms Dick is now calling for more regular checks to be in place. “It’s a stressful job,” she said.

“Firefighters, pilots, and athletes all have to undergo mandatory checks, so why not the police? It’s not at all a blame game, it’s just about making police officers aware.”

Balloons were released in honour of Mr Bruce

More than 400 people have now signed a petition demanding that annual heart checks be made mandatory for serving members of the police.

PC Bruce had declined voluntary check-ups, believing that he was in good health. This meant that his ischemic heart disease went undiagnosed, his ex-wife said.

Ms Dick described PC Bruce as a “funny and cheeky” man, who was a loving and devoted father.

She said: “When he had to be serious, he could be. But he knew how to have a really good time, he would make the room laugh.

“He was a good man, and anyone you speak to will say the same thing.”

Ms Dick recalled how PC Bruce got a job in Iceland on Holloway Road when he first moved to the UK from Trinidad.

She said: “He was really hard-working. When he worked in Iceland, he was always catching the robbers, the shoplifters. He’s quite a big guy, I said “you need to be in the police”. When he was growing up, he used to protect everyone.”

Ms Dick helped her then-husband apply to be a custody support officer and two years later he got a position in the police.

She said: “He’d been dreaming about it all his life, and he got it. He loved it, his team all came on Monday and said Michael would never leave the job. He wanted to be married, to be in the police, and to have a son. He got it all.”

Friends and family released balloons in honour of PC Bruce on Monday and are now raising money to help support Micah.

His body will be taken back to Trinidad, where the majority of his family still live.

Met Basic Command Unit Commander, Detective Chief Superintendent Luke Williams, who is responsible for policing in North West London, said: “PC Michael Bruce, was a dedicated PC with six years’ service in the Metropolitan Police Service, working most recently on our burglary and robbery team in the North West, and was a hugely popular man.

“It was deeply shocking to lose Michael unexpectedly while he was at work. He will be deeply missed by everyone and we have had floods of messages from colleagues saying he was the life and soul of the unit, friendly, smiling, humble and a pleasure to work with.”

“All of our thoughts are with Michael’s family, friends and colleagues at this deeply upsetting time.

“We are working closely with those directly impacted to ensure they have the support they need.”