Vicar: ‘I was stalked by female parishioner’

A vicar has told how he was failed by police after telling them he was being stalked by a female parishioner whose husband had died.

The Rev Graham Sawyer, who works in Burnley, told BBC Radio 5 live that he asked Lancashire Police for help “13 months before they actually did anything". The force has since apologised.

Lancashire Constabulary acknowledged that "the level of service provided to the victim fell short of what could be expected".

A force spokesman added that its practices in dealing with stalking cases had improved since receiving the complaint in November 2014.