POLICE failed to respond to an alert issued by a knifeman who stabbed people in frenzied knife attack in a packed restaurant due to a lack of manpower, a report has found.

Mohibur Rahman called Durham Constabulary four times in the 43 hours before the horrifying assault at Darlington’s Shapla restaurant in July 2016.

After hearing Rahman claim there was a gun-toting gang outside his property, the 999 call handler rated the incident as a 'priority', meaning officers should have been dispatched within an hour.

Three hours later, having waited for a police response to his call, Rahman stabbed 17-year-old waiter Saju Ahmed and restaurant owner Abu Bakar Raju.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) report also found:

  • Durham Constabulary missed its targets for 36 per cent of priority calls last year.
  • Rahman told police there were numerous dead bodies in his home.
  • The force had needed more resources and its response to Rahman had been appropriate. 

Durham Constabulary referred themselves to the IPCC in the wake of the attack, with the watchdog finding that Rahman - recently convicted under Northumbria Police's Operation Sanctuary investigation into sex attacks - had called 999 four times in the two days before the attack and that his landlady had also reported him to police.

It found the force had responded to one of Rahman's calls by taking the 44-year-old police custody the evening before the attack, arresting him for drug possession amid concerns for his mental health.

Rahman made a series of outlandish claims to officers and call handlers, telling police that he was being followed by a Jamaican gang wielding weapons, that there were up to 50 dead bodies in his home, that people with guns were stationed outside of his property and that he had ripped up his floorboards to release evil spirits, also claiming that Darlington’s missing children were trapped under them.

Rahman, who believed he had a “hex” on him, made threats to kill on the evening of July 20, before being taken into custody where a health care professional carried out a mental health assessment and found him to be fit to be detained. He was released under caution hours later.

A final 999 call, made at 3.17pm on July 21, saw Rahman again tell police Jamaicans with guns were outside of his property.

A call handler told the IPCC the force has missed the dispatch target on “most priority jobs” and that she had struggled for resources on the day of the attack.

One ‘immediate’ and 14 ‘priority’ incidents had been logged between 3pm and 7pm, with just four or five officers available to tackle them.

The IPCC said there was no evidence of misconduct in relation to the handling of Mohibur Rahman, who was on bail for offences linked to his role in a depraved grooming gang when he launched the savage attack.

However, the report highlighted the force’s failure to meet targets for responding to priority calls.

In response to the IPCC’s report, which also suggested police staff could have done more to accurately record their dealings with Rahman, Chief

Inspector Catherine James said lessons had been learned.

She said: “First and foremost, I would like to offer my sympathies to all affected by this incident.

“Since this case, new procedures have been put in place around how such incidents are recorded and we have reviewed our staffing to ensure more resources are available at peak times.

“Control room staff have also had further training around handling calls with a potential firearms element.

“I can reassure the public that every call we receive is thoroughly risk assessed and actioned accordingly.”

A spokesman for the IPCC said: “Although Durham Constabulary did not send officers to Rahman’s address within their one hour target time in response to his final 999 call, in the investigator’s opinion, this was as a result of a lack of resources rather than any individual failure to follow policy."