A police force has been condemned by an official report for its "abysmal" handling of the case of a talented young showjumper who was murdered by her jealous ex-boyfriend after a campaign of harassment.
The police watchdog identified a catalogue of failings in the way Derbyshire Police dealt with complaints made by keen horsewoman Tania Moore in the weeks and months before was she rammed off the road by gun fanatic Mark Dyche.
Miss Moore's mother Stella said that if the police had dealt with her daughter's case properly then she "would still be alive today".
"I hold the police responsible for failing to protect Tania and ultimately her death," she said, shortly after the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) unveiled its damning findings.
"In my view, none of the officers involved should be allowed to remain in the police."
Derbyshire Police announced that one of its detective constables had been sacked, a detective inspector demoted and four other officers given reprimands following a disciplinary inquiry into their conduct.
The IPCC, which managed the investigation into the case, said the actions of all six officers amounted to a "dereliction of duty".
Commissioner Amerdeep Somal said: "The findings of the IPCC managed investigation have indicated that the Derbyshire Police response was abysmal."
Ms Somal said the watchdog's inquiry had revealed that Miss Moore had told police on at least six occasions of problems she was experiencing with Dyche.
Its report had identified a litany of "fundamental errors" in the way police dealt with her complaints, she said. These included failures to take key statements, to obtain essential forensic samples, initiate proper lines of inquiry, interrogate all the available intelligence systems and conduct a proper risk assessment.
