WILTSHIRE Police fell well short of professional standards while investigating the theft of a deceased man’s car, a grieving relative has claimed.

Kevin Winterbourne, 49, who lives in Nottingham, has lambasted the “hopeless” force for causing his family “extra upset that could and should have been avoided”.

Kevin’s father William Winterbourne, who lived in Abbey Meads, died of liver cancer on February 3.

Later that month, on the night of February 23, William’s grieving family were shocked to discover that his house had been burgled and his Ford Fiesta stolen.

The police were called and they promptly began to investigate.

But on March 10, Kevin’s sister Tanya Winterbourne, who lives in St Andrew’s Ridge, discovered a letter addressed to William, dated March 9, that had been delivered to his house from the car compound informing him that his car was ready to be released and collected.

And when Tanya contacted the car compound, it transpired that the police had found William’s Fiesta on February 25, just a day after it was originally stolen, yet nobody from the force had informed the family.

A furious Kevin, himself a former police officer, said: “We thought the car had been burnt out and not found, or that the people who stole it were still using it. But the police knew where it was the whole time.

“I was a police officer for 13 years and it’s not on. The standards fall well below what they should be.”

To make matters worse, the car had more than £3,000 worth of damage when the family picked it up from the compound

Fortunately, the insurance company with whom the car was registered paid for the work to be done, as well as the compound fees.

Kevin lodged a complaint with the Wiltshire Police Professional Standards Department and received a letter saying that an officer would contact him and discuss the issue.

Kevin said: “We received a letter saying that the police are required by legislation to keep us informed of the progress of our complaint. That was dated April 7 and we still haven’t heard anything. Nobody has contacted me.

“I am seeing a pattern here that nobody in Wiltshire Police knows what they are doing, they just seem to do what they want, when they want.

“I feel the standards of this investigation and update fall way below what is expected and it caused unnecessary upset that could and should have been avoided.”

Kevin’s complaint is currently with the IPCC (Independent Police Complaints Commission) who will look at it in more detail.

In response, a spokesman from the force said: “Wiltshire Police always aims to carry out its investigations with the utmost professionalism.

“In this particular case, a number of enquiries were made and followed up, including house to house and intelligence lead enquiries. A warrant to search an address was also carried out but unfortunately no stolen goods were recovered.

“The car was recovered and it was returned to its owner at the earliest opportunity.”