Shedding light on a gangland hit

The Stirlands were tracked down in Trusthorpe and murdered

John and Joan Stirland were gunned down at their bungalow in Lincolnshire in August 2004.

The couple had fled from Nottingham after shots were fired at their home - they were being targeted by a notorious gang because of their links to murderer Michael O'Brien - Mrs Stirland's son.

They went into hiding in Trusthorpe, but the killers tracked them down.

Although Nottingham gangland boss Colin Gunn was jailed for 35 years in 2006 for their murders - many questions have remained unanswered.

A report into the handling of the case has been produced by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), but does it shed any light on why the Stirlands were not better protected?

BEHIND A GANGLAND MURDER

Mrs Stirland contacted Nottinghamshire Police when she heard a prowler. Why didn't she phone 999 or the local police?

Joan and John Stirland were targeted by Colin Gunn

She was concerned about corruption within the police force - possibly linked to the Gunn gang - both in Nottinghamshire and further afield.

So she called a Nottinghamshire officer she felt she could trust, an officer with whom she had had dealings with previously.

The couple were not in a formal programme of witness protection as police say the couple had turned it down.

The IPCC report said that officers who dealt with the Stirlands were not properly trained in witness protection measures.

Why did it take Nottinghamshire Police almost three hours to tell colleagues in Lincolnshire about reports of a prowler?

The first officer called contacted another officer who was at an airport and about to go on holiday. He telephoned another officer who was on duty.

It is unclear what proportion of the delay lies with this complication.

Why was it a further seven hours before police visited the couple's home and found their bodies?

After Nottinghamshire Police called them, Lincolnshire Police asked for more details to be faxed over.

The fax came, but with a phone number for a closed incident room as the point of contact. Lincolnshire Police could not get further information.

Eventually, having got no response, the Lincolnshire force sent an officer to call on the Stirlands on a non-urgent basis. He found the bodies.

The couple had been dead for seven hours.

Will any officers face disciplinary charges?

According to the Independent Police Complaints Commission report, the conduct of seven Nottinghamshire officers fell below professional standards.

Two have now retired so will not face any sanction. It is now up to Nottinghamshire Police to decide what disciplinary action to take.

The IPCC can step in again if it feels this is not sufficient.

Importantly the police were found to have "organisationally failed" in five areas including the sharing of intelligence and the management of major crime.

Were the couple given the offer of police protection?

There have been some claims from surviving family members disputing the fact that police protection was offered to the Stirlands.

Nottinghamshire Police say full protection was offered to them, but it was declined.

The IPCC report makes it clear that although the Stirlands turned down an offer of full protection, they were not given a clear explanation of other types of protection available to them.