'I warned of violent attacks before Diane Sindall murder'

A former detective has said he warned his superiors of a spate of violent attacks and rapes leading up to the murder of a young woman - that resulted in the wrong man spending 38 years in prison.

The ex-Merseyside Police officer claimed he was told not to investigate further despite voicing concerns to two senior detectives.

He said his worst fears became a reality when Diane Sindall was brutally murdered just days after he raised the alarm in Birkenhead.

Ms Sindall's partially clothed body was found by a dogwalker in an alley off Borough Road on 2 August 1986, launching one of the biggest manhunts in Merseyside history.

The officer said he had previously uncovered "a pattern of attacks in the same area with a similar modus operandi suggesting it was one attacker".

"The more I looked at it, the more concerned I became as the pattern suggested escalation - both in frequency and in violence - and in my view it was moving towards something far more serious," he said.

But Merseyside Police said there was currently no evidence to link Ms Sindall's murder to the other offences.

The officer, who has asked to remain anonymous, spoke of the concerns he had raised for Crime Next Door: The Beast of Birkenhead – a new podcast on BBC Sounds.

He said he first came across the cases after he was asked to investigate a sexual assault on Borough Road in July 1986.

The officer subsequently requested the case files for similar offences in the surrounding area with a comparable modus operandi.

He was sent two boxes of files.

"Even at first glance, I was struck by the number and seriousness of the assaults and rapes that had occurred locally [over a six to 12 month period], as well as the escalating level of violence in several of them," he said.

"As an experienced detective familiar with that area, I was shocked that I had not previously been aware of these incidents.

"Given their frequency and severity, I could not understand why a dedicated investigation had not already been initiated."

The officer said he recalled one case involving a young woman who was violently assaulted and raped in an entry off Borough Road.

He said: "She lost consciousness during the attack and, after regaining it, attempted to crawl to safety.

"Tragically, her attacker returned and raped her again. It was a deeply disturbing case.

"I reported my concerns to [a senior officer], explaining that I believed these incidents might be linked and that we could be dealing with a serial offender.

" Well, from my recollection, I was advised to return the files to Wallasey and not to pursue the matter further."

He said he ignored the request and took more time to go through the files, sparking fears that this could lead to "something far more serious".

He said he raised these concerns with another senior officer.

"My recollection is that I was again directed to return the files and close the matter," he said.

He said it was "possibly as little as a week" later than Ms Sindall was murdered.

Peter Sullivan - who was dubbed the "Beast of Birkenhead" - was wrongly accused of killing Ms Sindall, spending 38 years in prison which resulted in one of the longest running miscarriages of justice in British history.

He was only freed when the DNA profile from an unknown man was found in 2023 in semen samples taken from the scene of the attack.

Merseyside Police said: "The current investigation has reviewed relevant offences committed before and after the murder of Diane Sindall.

"The investigation team have an open mind, however, apart from the offence [involving a "woman in yellow" who was attacked on Borough Road minutes before Ms Sindall],there is currently no evidence to link the Diane Sindall murder to the other offences."

The spokesperson added that the two senior officers had since died, "as such, we have no further information in relation to this."

In The Beast of Birkenhead podcast, journalist Olivia Graham returns to the community where Ms Sindall lived and where she was murdered.

She speaks to people who still remember the shock and fear that swept the town, and the whispered doubts that the police had arrested the wrong man.

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