A SENIOR Cheshire police officer has said the force is ‘incredibly sorry’ for not arriving in time to spare Jock Straiton the merciless beating he suffered at the hands of his killers.
Six 999 calls were made to police by Mr Straiton and his neighbours alerting them to the fracas outside.
By the time officers arrived at Park Road, Winnington, it was too late.
Mr Straiton was lying in a pool of blood, having been pummelled and savagely kicked in the head.
The kicking caused the brain haemorrhage that killed him, but he also suffered a fractured nose, a broken arm, a broken cheekbone, three broken ribs and a damaged vertebrae in his spine.
A female neighbour called 999 twice, once telling the operator ‘something quite nasty’s going off’.
But, like Mr Straiton before her, she was told to ring her local police station because of the high volume of emergency calls received in the early hours of Saturday, July 26.
After Nigel Goolding and Joshua Spruce were locked up for a minimum of 15 years for murder at Chester Crown Court, assistant chief constable Garry Shewan spoke about his colleagues’ deep regret and anguish.
“It was a very busy night for Cheshire police. At that time police were attending 21 different incidents, some very serious, and obviously Jock’s was serious.
“Taking officers away from other incidents caused the delay and we got there too late.
“Cheshire police are incredibly sorry.”
