A VULNERABLE man who was battered to death did not receive the support he needed because of his “reluctance or inability” to engage with those responsible for his care, a report has said.

A review into the circumstances surrounding the murder of Lee Irving has conceded there were “missed opportunities” when planning for his care.

But it concluded it would never be known whether a different course of action would have saved his life.

The report by the Newcastle Safeguarding Adults Board (NSAB) found that despite repeated warnings from his family and extensive contact with social services, the police and NHS and other agencies there was a lack of co-ordinated response to his case.

It comes just days after the publication of three serious case reviews into the circumstances surrounding the death of vulnerable Angela Wrightson, who was killed by two schoolgirls in her Hartlepool home in 2014.

Mr Irving’s body was dumped on a path in Kenton, Newcastle, in June 2016 – near the house he had been living in with those accused of his murder.

During an eight-week trial, a jury heard how the 24-year-old, who suffered profound learning difficulties, was repeatedly attacked over a week by James Wheatley. He suffered 27 rib fractures and broken bones in his face.

Last December, Wheatley was jailed for life with a minimum term of 23 years for murder. Wheatley’s mother Julie Mills and his former partner Nicole Lawrence were jailed for allowing the death of a vulnerable adult and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

The report highlights that Mr Irving was a difficult person to help and his case was complex. It describes him as socially immature, impressionable and unable to identify others’ intentions.

“His eagerness to please to gain acceptance and kudos left him particularly vulnerable to those who abused and eventually killed him,” the report adds.

Eight recommendations were made. All have been completed or are progressing according to plan.

Chair of the Newcastle Safeguarding Board, Vida Morris, said: “Lee was a vulnerable adult whose death was an evil act carried out by people who acted inhumanely.

“Lee’s reluctance or inability to engage with services made helping him difficult at times.”

Ewen Weir, director of People at Newcastle City Council, who heads up the directorate which cared for Mr Irving all his life, said: “It is hard to imagine a more sad and tragic case. My heart goes out to his family and friends for the traumatic and heart-breaking experience this has been for them.

“That said, several agencies, including Adult Social Care, had a responsibility to care for Lee. That responsibility was largely met throughout his childhood years, but it became more difficult when he turned 18 and an adult.

“From then we had to take into consideration his wishes and could not always convince him, despite our best efforts that he still needed care and the company he was keeping did not have his best interests at heart.

“Increasingly, Lee struggled to engage with the very services designed to help him, failing to attend nearly half of his appointments, and so despite our best efforts we could not support him as much as we would have liked.”

He added: “I know that Lee’s family felt excluded from some of the decisions that were taken about his care and that their warnings about his living conditions were not acted upon effectively. For that we are truly sorry.

“The public can be assured that we have learned some valuable lessons in this case and are making changes to tighten our procedures yet further.”