The ordinary stretch of road gave few hints of the terrible tragedy it witnessed more than a year ago.

But for the hundreds of people who joined the Prime Minister at the same spot where PC Jeff Tooley was killed in the line of duty the sense of grief was almost too much to bear.

There was a sombre silence as invited guests and members of the community gathered in front of the memorial stone in Brighton Road, Shoreham, which was unveiled yesterday by Tony Blair.

They sat near the spot where PC Tooley was mowed down as he tried to stop a van during a speed check just before midnight on April 24 last year.

A photograph of the policeman described by the Prime Minister as "extraordinary" faced the crowd and former colleagues from Shoreham traffic division lined the street, their expressions mingled with pride and sadness.

A police band struck up a moving melody as Tony Blair and film producer Michael Winner, who held the hand of Jeff's mother Veronica as she struggled to contain her emotions, walked together with other dignitaries towards the memorial.

PC Tooley's father, Barry Tooley, and his two brothers Russell and Chris, were present at the ceremony with Sussex Police Chief Constable Paul Whitehouse, East Worthing and Shoreham MP Tim Loughton, the chairman of Adur District Council Don Philips and Margaret Johnson, chair of Sussex Police Authority.

The memorial stone was paid for by the Police Memorial Trust, founded by Mr Winner to remember police officers killed on duty following the shooting of WPC Yvonne Fletcher outside the Libyan Embassy in London.

Family members and colleagues cried as Mr Blair paid tribute to the dedication and courage shown by Jeff Tooley and also to the work of the whole police force.

Mr Blair said Mr Tooley, who was 26 when he died, had been killed when he was in the prime of his life and had a promising future before him.

He said: " We come to pay tribute to a man who was on one level a very ordinary police officer, but on another level Jeff Tooley was a young man who exemplified the best of his generation. Just the sort of police officer you would wish to come across if you needed help."

Mr Blair said he found it particularly remarkable PC Tooley had taken up learning sign language before his untimely death so he could help more people.

Nothing could make up for the loss of a son or brother, Mr Blair stressed, but the memorial would ensure he was never forgotten.

Paying tribute to the police, the Prime Minister said: "Policing is a job that requires many qualities, qualities of understanding and it requires physical and mental courage. Above all it requires a willingness to face what each day brings. No police officer knows what dangers they may face each day but they take on the task.

"It is my privilege to be here with you and to pay tribute to the memory of PC Jeff Tooley and through him all the brave men and women who serve their communities the length and breadth of the land."

Mr Blair drew back the curtain from a simple memorial stone engraved with the words: 'Here fell PC Jeff Tooley. 24th April 1999' and the badge of Sussex Police.

There was a moment of silence after Mr Winner urged those present to pray for PC Tooley, his family and all the police officers killed and wounded in the line of duty.

Flowers were placed in front of the stone and the sea of colour was a stark contrast to the grey, industrial backdrop at the ceremony.

After the event, Veronica Tooley said the family were "proud and honoured" that the Prime Minister had unveiled the memorial.

She said: "The Prime Minister was very kind and sympathetic to us. The memorial is not just a tribute to Jeff and his life and service but also to the whole of the police force."

Also present at the ceremony was Judge Anthony Thorpe, whose comments at the sentencing of John Heaton, 47, who admitted causing death by dangerous driving, sparked the Argus Justice For Jeff campaign.

Heaton drove off after knocking down PC Tooley and set fire to his van at Devil's Dyke. He was jailed for seven years by Chichester Crown Court but later had his sentence reduced to five years on appeal.

Judge Thorpe compared the maximum ten-year sentence he could impose for the crime with 14 years he could impose on a burglar and said: "This might strike the public as an odd approach to the value placed on human life."

The Argus is calling for judges to be given increased powers of sentencing on similar cases.

Beforehand, Mr Blair admitted being a parent was a tougher job than leading the country as he addressed a black church conference in Brighton, the day after his son's arrest.

Mr Blair, speaking at Faith in the Future, a three-day conference held by Black Majority Churches at the Brighton Centre yesterday, refused to answer questions on his son Euan's arrest for being drunk and incapable in Leicester Square.

Minutes into his speech to the packed conference, however, he was met with applause and laughter from a sympathetic audience as he outlined the values of family, tolerance and trying to bring up children properly.

He joined in the laughter, saying that particular part of the speech had been written a while ago. He added: "Being Prime Minister can be a tough job but I always say being a parent can be much tougher.

"Sometimes you don't always succeed, but the family to me is more important than anything else."

It was the first time a British Prime Minister had attended a Black Majority Churches conference and delegates and organisers heralded his visit and words as an "historic moment".

Mr Blair said he wanted to eradicate prejudice and discrimination in Britain through education in youngsters and adults.

He said: "I know that some of the churches and faith groups represented here are keen to pioneer their own schools and the Government will look seriously at any proposals you make."

He urged black children not to limit their horizons.

To rapturous applause, he added: "They used to say Britain would never have a woman Prime Minister but it happened, and one day we will have a black Prime Minister."

In contrast to his disastrous speech to the Women's Institute last month, Mr Blair earned the support of the people when he left behind his scripted speech and talked emotionally on the importance of faith.

He said: "If I look at the world that my kids are growing up into today there is so much for them. So much in material terms and so much we couldn't do when we were younger. But there are also problems and challenges.

"It means taking those basic values and convictions, taking those things that make us what we are and marching unafraid into the future."

Mark Sturge, general director of The African and Caribbean Evangelical Alliance which organised the conference, said the Prime Minister was "definitely sincere and that carries much more leverage than a carefully-crafted script."

Tony Richards, a delegate at the conference, said he thought Mr Blair said: "He was speaking not as Prime Minister but as a parent today."