'The worst call you could imagine': M9 crash officer

Lamara Bell and her partner John Yuill were found inside their car after it crashed down an embankment off the M9

A police officer received "the worst call you could imagine", a fatal accident inquiry (FAI) into a deadly crash on the M9 has heard.

John Yuill, 28, and his partner Lamara Bell, 25, died after their car crashed off the motorway near Stirling in 2015.

A call about the incident was not logged by the police, meaning action was not taken until three days later.

The inquiry has already heard that it was police officer Brian Henry who failed to log the call.

Mr Yuill was found to be dead when the car was eventually discovered and Ms Bell died later in hospital.

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According to a statement shown to the inquiry, Mr Henry was phoned by Laura Henderson, a manager at the Bilston Glen police call centre on 8 July 2015 and asked about a call he had answered three days earlier while working an overtime shift answering 101 calls.

Mr Henry said he was asked if he remembered taking a call from a Mr Wilson.

The inquiry has previously heard that farmer John Wilson called Police Scotland after spotting the car on the morning of 5 July.

Mr Henry said he did recall the phone call and that it was from a farmer and had something to do with a car.

Police near the scene of the 2015 crash

The police officer added in his statement: "I think Laura Henderson said something like there were people in the car."

Mr Henry said he replied, "tell me nobody's dead. Are they ok? I was told that someone is still alive."

His statement went on to say he "was in a state of complete shock at that point."

Elsewhere in the statement he said: "It was the worst call you can imagine as a police officer. A call you don't want to receive."

Call centre manager Laura Henderson told the FAI she recalled Mr Henry said he felt physically sick.

The inquiry has previously heard that Mr Henry wrote down details of the call about the crashed car in his notebook but failed to log it into the police IT system.

The inquiry, before Sheriff James Williamson, continues.