‘We take necessary and appropriate action in concerns relating to children’! Lincolnshire Police refers itself to complaints watchdog following deaths of two-year-old Bronson Battersby and dad Kenneth

Lincolnshire Police says it will always ‘take necessary and appropriate action’ in concerns relating to children, after the deaths of a father and his two-year-old son made national headlines.

The force has referred itself to complaints watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct, following the deaths of Kenneth and Bronson Battersby in Skegness.

It says it is doing so for ‘reasons of transparency’

In a statement issued today (January 19), Lincolnshire Police added it ‘did respond to information supplied to us’.

Bronson and Kenneth’s bodies were discovered on January 9.

They were last seen alive on Boxing Day and an initial post mortem revealed that the youngster had died of dehydration and starvation, it has been reported.

The 60-year-old is thought to have suffered a fatal heart attack.

“I would first of all like to offer my heartfelt condolences to the loved ones of Kenneth and Bronson Battersby. Their tragic deaths have understandably captured the attention and hearts of the public, and to those who were close to them we send our condolences,” Deputy Chief Constable Julia Debenham said.

“The full circumstances involved are now the subject of a review and details will be examined within that, which will determine if there are lessons for any agency to learn.

“What I would like to make clear is that we did respond to information supplied to us, but for reasons of transparency we have also referred the case to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

“This is standard procedure, and they will be undertaking their own independent investigation. Any speculation around the exact actions of any agencies involved at this stage is premature, though I do understand why our communities want answers as soon as possible.”

Social workers say they contacted the force on two separate occasions earlier this month in a bid to get access to the family’s home.

DCC Debenham added: “I know there are many questions about the exact actions that the police took, and we are limited in what we can say because of the pending inquiries.

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“I would like to reassure the public that where we get calls for concern in relation to children, we take necessary and appropriate action to make sure they are as safe as possible, which is always based on the best information and intelligence available to us.

“Please be assured that once we have the results of the review and IOPC investigation we intend to publicise those so the public have full details of the circumstances, which I hope will provide clarity.”