How police let down the father killed by thugs

Mohammed Shafiq, a 50-year-old plumber, called a non-emergency line to say his teenage son had been trapped by a rival gang.

The operator refused to send officers and Mr Shafiq drove to the scene to try to defuse the situation himself.

Mohammed Bilal Bhatti (l) has pleaded guilty to murdering Mohammed Shafiq. The killing was linked to a dispute between Mr Shafiq's son and Shahdab Akhtar (r)

His reward was for one of the gang members to attack him with a metal pole and for another to stab him in the stomach.

He died in hospital of his injuries.

On Friday, the fifth day of his trial, Mohammed Bilal Bhatti, the 21-year-old who wielded the knife, changed his plea to one of guilty to murder.

The trial at Manchester Crown Court was halted when Shazad Akhtar, the 17-year-old who had struck Mr Shafiq with the bar, pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

Two other youths - one of whom was on bail for an attack on Mr Shafiq's son, Umar - admitted violent disorder.

All four were remanded in custody for sentencing later this month.

After the case ended, a damning report was released into the handling of Mr Shafiq's initial call to Lancashire Police.

Drawn up by the Independent Police Complaints Commission, the report said that the unnamed civilian female operator had 'missed key information because she was speaking over Mr Shafiq' and had failed to recognise the seriousness of the situation.

The report found she had made a mistake in not dispatching officers to the scene.

The IPCC and Lancashire Police are considering what action to take against the operator.

The fatal confrontation, which arose out of an earlier attack on Umar, happened outside Burnley College in March.

Mr Shafiq, from nearby Nelson, called police on a number given to him by a detective investigating the first incident.

After his death, Mr Shafiq's family spoke of their anger that the police hadn't heeded his warning.

'If they had responded earlier and took him seriously he would still be alive,' said his nephew Tahir Raja, 47.

Outside court, Umar said the killing of his father, a former taxi driver who had been working as a plumber, had been 'cold-blooded murder'.

He added: 'My father was a good honest man, he was a great husband and brother and we will always miss him. It's the holy month of Ramadan and we would like everyone to pray for him.'

The quartet were all remanded in custody and will be sentenced later this month.