Man warned South Yorkshire Police before committing murder

Craig Preston's body was discovered by dog walkers near to the Woodhead Tunnel in August 2016

A man warned police four times he intended to "take matters into his own hands" before going on to commit murder, an investigation found.

Mohammed Bashir killed Craig Preston and dumped his body by the Woodhead Tunnels on 21 August 2016.

He rang South Yorkshire Police four times in the weeks before the attack, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) found.

The watchdog's investigation concluded the force's actions were appropriate.

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Bashir, 42, was jailed for 22 years in 2017 for his part in the murder.

Leonie Mason, 24, was also found guilty of murder and three boys were found guilty of manslaughter.

During the trial it emerged that Mason had been in a relationship with both 34-year-old Mr Preston, a low level drug dealer, and pizza delivery driver Bashir at the time of the attack.

However, the jury heard she and Bashir saw Mr Preston as an "annoyance" and "wanted him out of the way" so had hatched a plot to kill him.

The couple recruited the three teenagers, one of whom was just 14 at the time, and lured Mr Preston to a lay-by where he was tied up and then kicked, punched and stamped on by all five defendants.

Mohammed Shiraz Bashir and Leonie Mason were convicted of murder

He was then forced into the boot of a car before being dumped on moorland where he was discovered the following day by dog walkers.

His trousers and underpants had been pulled down before he was pushed into a ravine.

A photo of his badly-beaten body in the boot of a car was recovered from Bashir's phone.

The judge, Mr Justice Males said: "Craig Preston did not have much of a life. What little he had revolved around his abuse of class A drugs and his fixation with Leonie Mason.

"Nevertheless he was a human being who did not deserve this painful and degrading death."

The IOPC report said both men had threatened each other. It said Bashir contacted the force on the 6, 7, 13 and 15 August to report threats by Mr Preston, "stating that he planned to take matters into his own hands if no action was taken".

He was advised by a police constable and a detective sergeant not to contact Mr Preston.

Mr Preston was arrested on 13 August and told police Bashir had assaulted him. There was no further contact between the force and the men after 15 August, the report added.

Miranda Biddle, IOPC regional director, said: "We have a very clear role in this case; to establish the facts - that there was evidence to suggest threats were made by both men - and to assess the police response.

"In this case we found the South Yorkshire Police's actions, in general, were appropriate and the officers involved had no case to answer."