Jimmy Prout death: Chances missed to save him - report

Jimmy Prout, 45, suffered months of torture before he was murdered by a group he considered friends

Multiple opportunities to save a man who was tortured and murdered by people he considered friends were missed, a review has found.

Jimmy Prout, 45, was abused, killed and then dumped on wasteland in North Shields, Tyne and Wear, in 2016.

A review has found there were "clear opportunities" when agencies - including police and health services - could have spoken to him about abuse.

Mr Prout's brother Eddie previously said his brother had been "let down".

Four people were jailed in 2017 over Mr Prout's death after jurors heard he suffered "Dark Ages" abuse, including having his teeth knocked out with a hammer and being forced to eat one of his own testicles.

According to a domestic homicide review conducted by the Safer North Tyneside Community Partnership, Mr Prout was subject to "significant physical abuse that could more accurately be described as torture".

The report said he was:

• Subjected to acts of humiliation and degradation including sexual and extreme physical abuse

• Financially exploited

• Deprived of his human rights and liberty

"Although the abuse was happening in plain sight of the local community and in some cases services, alerts were not raised," the report said.

It made a number of recommendations including refresher training for "all services" on domestic abuse and adult safeguarding, increased awareness of financial abuse and improved policies and procedures.

Eddie Prout said his brother had been let down by the authorities

In the review Eddie Prout said his brother was one of eight children but their home life had been chaotic and Mr Prout moved to a school in Wales where he was abused.

Eddie Prout said his brother had been "good with his hands and could fix anything but he didn't learn to read or write" and he worked for a while in a scrapyard.

He said Mr Prout had two children with a partner and "things were going well until he started using cannabis" which led to family arguments and his children being taken into care.

He became homeless until, in September 2012, he moved in with people he thought were friends who went on to torture and kill him.

Eddie Prout said he wanted to know why his "vulnerable" brother was not helped by the social care agencies he had been involved with, adding: "I think the services think that people like me and [my brother] are scum of the earth and not worth helping."

The review said there had been "multiple barriers" to Mr Prout getting help, including being "highly controlled and accompanied to GP visits" by his abusers and also being viewed through the "lens" of being a suspect of "offences against another vulnerable person".

Zahid Zaman and Ann Corbett, above, were found guilty of murder. Myra Wood, left and Kay Rayworth, below, were convicted of allowing Mr Prout's death

The report said: "This context did not enable a safe space for [Mr Prout] to talk."

The review also said Mr Prout's history of being abused as a child, raised in care and an "extensive history of being involved with the criminal justice system" as an adult also "created barriers" with Mr Prout "unlikely to have trust in statutory services".

The report said he had several contacts with police and the health services such as GPs and attendances at A&E, including one incident in November 2019 when he went to hospital with multiple injuries inflicted by a baseball bat and knife.

On some occasions he was accompanied by his abusers and while it was "best practice to seek to speak to people alone whenever possible", that did not happen in his case.

The report also said there were "indicators" he was "at risk of harm", for example he appeared "dirty and dishevelled" and had visible bruising and missing teeth.

But he was "not identified as a possible victim of abuse and exploitation" but rather a suspected "perpetrator of domestic abuse" which "obscured services' ability to see his vulnerabilities".

Agencies said lessons had been learnt following the killing of Jimmy Prout

It also said "professional curiosity was lacking across all agencies".

The Safer North Tyneside Partnership said it had been an extremely complex and challenging case and it was hoped the review highlighted the "valuable lessons all agencies have learnt".

Paul Hanson, chief executive of North Tyneside Council, said the authority had already completed work on the recommendations, adding: "I accept that if services had communicated more frequently through the right channels a greater picture of [Mr Prout's] life could have been painted.

"This more complete picture might have provided us with a greater chance to protect Sammy from the people who murdered him."

Paula Shandran, associate director of professional standards and safeguarding at Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, said the review gave "valuable insight" with improvements made including "mandatory domestic abuse training for staff".

Ch Supt Lyn Peart, of Northumbria Police, also said the recommendations had been acted on, adding: "Protecting those who are vulnerable is our number one priority and we will continue to work with our partners to keep our communities safe."