A DISTRAUGHT family has received an apology from Dorset Police after the force failed to tell them their brother had died in a fire more than 10 years ago.

Jim Turner’s body was discovered in a shed in Holdenhurst Road in Bournemouth following a blaze in January 2006.

But records revealed there was no attempt to contact his next of kin in Middlesbrough and that he was cremated in a local authority funeral in the absence of friends or family members.

When his sister contacted police 10 years later, it was identified that Mr Turner, who was 68 years old when he died, was the person she was looking for.

But again police failed to pass on the information and it was only earlier this year that Mr Turner’s brother finally found out the truth when he contacted the Missing Persons Bureau.

Inquiries have also revealed that Mr Turner’s property has since been lost.

His sister, Kathleen Mills, told the Daily Echo her brother was known to police and was a loner who lived in and around the Bournemouth area.

She added: “How can this happen in this day and age? Why has it taken 10 years? My brother was a kind man who was a professional builder but unfortunately had suffered the loss of his wife to cancer and other tragedies in his life which he found difficult to cope with.

“Our mother had purchased a burial plot before she died for our brother James. We are not able to have a burial or even a blessing of my brother’s ashes.

“My brother has a son and daughter and three grandchildren living in Canada and they want answers.”

The family’s complaint was reviewed by Neil Devoto, a senior investigating officer of the Dorset Police Major Crime Investigation Team.

In his report, he said Mr Turner was known to be sleeping in the shed, which was used by the homeless. He said there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding his death, that he was known to be a drinker and a smoker and that he died of “inhalation of smoke fumes”.

He said there was no record of any attempt to contact next of kin and that his possessions had been disposed of.

Mr Devoto said he would have expected more to be done to contact next of kin and that the call from Mr Turner’s sister last year “should have been followed up as a priority to its conclusion”.

Mr Devoto said sorry to the family and added: “I find that the level of service to the family has fallen below the standards I would have expected and appreciate the hurt that this has caused.

“This is unacceptable and I apologise on behalf of Dorset Police.”