WPC Claire Brind was a Londoner, from south of the river. She was bright and forthright but slightly accident-prone. The daughter of a former DI (who retired on medical grounds following injuries sustained in an off-duty road accident) and still a serving District Nurse, Claire joined the station as a probationer. The butt of jokes both in the station and on the streets, she struggled to assert her authority and disliked certain aspects of the job. Although she occasionally showed commendable initiative, her moaning and poor timekeeping did not exactly endear her to her sergeants - but Claire was one of Burnside's favourite WPCs to use for plain clothes operations - she was on hand in the hospital when Burnside's goddaughter died and he appreciated her tactful handling of the situation.