Bronson Battersby was left in the dark with no food or water for nearly two weeks

Police who found a two-year-old boy starved and dehydrated to death beside his dad, who had earlier died of a heart attack, have referred themselves to the IOPC.

Bronson Battersby was found curled up in a ball, dressed in his Pudsey bear pyjamas after being left in the dark with no food or water for nearly two weeks.

His father Kenneth, 60, is believed to have suffered a heart attack shortly after Boxing Day at their home in Skegness, Lincolnshire.

Their deaths have now prompted a ‘rapid review’ of various agencies by Lincolnshire County Council.

Lincolnshire Police, meanwhile, have referred themselves to watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct after they did not force entry to the property where the pair lay dead.

A social worker came to the rented property on January 2 for a routine visit but there was no answer at the door, so she contacted the police and tried talking to neighbours.

She returned two days later but there was still no response, so she contacted police again.

It took another five days before she finally arranged to get a key from the landlord to check on the pair herself.

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