Lincolnshire Police refers itself to regulator over tragic case of Bronson Battersby who starved to death in Skegness

A review will be held into the actions of the county’s police and social workers after a tragic case which resulted in a two-year-old boy starving to death.

Lincolnshire Police has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct after the bodies of Bronson Battersby and his father Kenneth were found at their home in Skegness – days after the pair were last seen.

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.

The Sun, which broke the story today, has reported that Bronson and Kenneth were last seen alive on Boxing Day and that an initial post mortem revealed that the youngster had died of dehydration and starvation. The 60-year-old is thought to have suffered a fatal heart attack.

The police – who have been criticised locally in recent months for their response to calls – have refused to say if hearings into this case will be held in public. The force is also the lowest funded in the country.

Police have not confirmed if the social worker had used the 101 system to report the issue.

A force spokesman said: “The exact actions of organisations involved will be analysed in a forthcoming review and at this stage it would be inappropriate to comment further.

“As part of standard procedures we have referred this to the IOPC as a result of a death or serious injury following police involvement.”

Lincolnshire County Council has confirmed that it is carrying out a ‘rapid review’ of the case – which is its standard procedure.

More stories like this delivered straight to your inbox every morning - sign up to The Briefing here.

Officials have confirmed that Bronson was ‘open’ to children services and that a social worker had contacted Mr Battersby on December 27 to arrange for a visit on January 2.

When the social worker could not get a response from the house on January 2, they contacted police after making enquiries at neighbouring homes.

Social workers do not have the power to force their way into homes.

A further call to police was made on January 4 after a social worker made an unannounced visit to the home but again received no response from Mr Battersby.

Finally, on January 9, the social worker was let into the home by the landlord.

Heather Sandy, executive director for children’s services, said: “This was a tragic incident, and we are supporting the family at this difficult time. We are currently carrying out a review of the case alongside partner agencies to better understand the circumstances, and we await the results of the coroner’s investigations as well.

“Our thoughts are with the family and friends of those involved.”

Outgoing Chief Constable Chris Haward has recently highlighted that the force ‘lowest funded’ in the country and that his ‘disadvantaged’ team are dealing with higher workloads on a lower budget than other forces.