POLICE Scotland call handlers have been criticised by watchdogs after failing to respond to calls about a vulnerable, suicidal man who lived just minutes away from one of the city’s biggest police stations.

The Police Investigations and Review Commissioner, Kate Frame, said the force were guilty of a “series of failings” in how they handled the case of Andrew Bow, who was found dead seven days after officers were first made aware of neighbours’ concerns.

Frame called on the national service to improve “the handling and management of calls dealt with by staff at their Area Control Room at Bilston Glen”.

The Bilston Glen control room was criticised previously over the deaths of John Yuill and Lamara Bell, the couple whose car crashed into a field off the M9 near Stirling, and who, despite calls reporting the crash, lay undiscovered for three days.

Bow had learning difficulties and was recorded on the police database as a “vulnerable person”.

Officers had spoken to the 37-year-old on March 12, 2016, after finding him in Holyrood Park in a confused and paranoid state.

Medics in Royal Edinburgh’s Mental Health Assessment Team deemed Bow fit to be released back home, and police took him back to his flat in the city’s Southside.

Three days later a neighbour noticed all the windows of Bow’s flat were broken and reported it to the council, who the next day reported it to the police. The force took no action.

Then on 21 March, a local shopkeeper called 999 about the windows and the call was marked as a “Grade 3,” requiring the dispatch of officers within 40 minutes.

The shopkeeper offered to wait until Police arrived to show them where Bow lived, they never turned up, with call handlers saying no resources were available.

About 9.45am the next day, the shopkeeper contacted police. Again, no officers were sent to Bow’s flat, with call handlers saying no police resources were available.

However, Frame says records show that “community policing officers were in fact available”.

At about 6.30pm that evening, another neighbour phoned the police.

At this point, call handling staff were aware of the two previous un-actioned 999 calls and of concerns being expressed for Bow, to the effect that he may have “hurt himself” or “committed suicide”.

However, no officers were sent.

Frame says this should have been marked as a priority and police should have been sent in 15 minutes.

It was only the next morning, 15 hours after that last call, when a police sergeant read details of the incident on the police system and decided to send officers to Bow’s flat. At 9.30am, they forced entry and found Bow dead inside.

Frame said it was unclear if Bow could have been saved had police responded to the initial call.

The Commissioner said: “It is particularly concerning that despite several members of the public contacting the police to express their concerns, Police Scotland appear to have taken no action in relation to the first approach and thereafter in response to the subsequent calls, failed to dispatch officers who were available, timeously, to investigate.”

Frame said Police Scotland needed to take action to improve the handling and management of calls dealt with by staff at Bilston Glen, and ensure that they use all available “operational resources for priority calls”.

Police Scotland apologised to Bow’s family for “shortcomings” over the events surrounding his death.

Police Scotland Assistant Chief Constable Nelson Telfer said the force has made “significant changes and improvements” since the incident.

“Even after the passage of time, our thoughts remain with Andrew’s family and friends,” Telfer said.

“We do, however, note the recommendations within the Pirc report and acknowledge the fact that there were some shortcomings in relation to the events that led to Andrew’s death in March 2016.”