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The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has served gross misconduct notices on three South Yorkshire Police officers, two Bedfordshire Police officers and a South Wales police officer as part of its ongoing investigations into the handling of allegations against Ian Watkins, it was announced today.

The IPCC has three independent investigations ongoing focussed on the response of South Wales Police, Bedfordshire Police and South Yorkshire Police to allegations that Watkins was abusing children.

The three South Yorkshire Police officers, one sergeant and two police constables, have been served with notices advising them that their conduct is subject to investigation. The IPCC is investigating complaints around the handling of three reports made to the force between March and May 2012 which contained allegations against Watkins with potential evidence.

The IPCC is also investigating Bedfordshire Police’s handling of information from a member of the public who reported an allegation of child abuse against Watkins to the force in October 2012. A sergeant and a constable have been served with notices advising them their conduct is under investigation.

The South Wales Police detective constable, who was attached to the Child Protection Unit, is the second officer from the force to be investigated.

In November, a detective sergeant based at Pontypridd was formally accused of “gross misconduct.”

The IPCC has received a substantial amount of documentation from the three forces which is being analysed by investigators.

IPCC Commissioner Jan Williams said today: "We are making good progress with our three independent investigations and as result of our enquiries IPCC investigators have served notices on six further officers as part of the ongoing investigation – three from South Yorkshire Police, two from Bedfordshire Police and a second from South Wales Police. Arrangements are being made to interview the officers in the coming weeks.

"We have now conducted two interviews with a detective sergeant from South Wales Police about his actions in relation to information about Ian Watkins. We anticipate he will be interviewed again in the near future.

"We are continuing to gather and analyse information in all three investigations in order to establish what steps were taken by police in response to the allegations made against Ian Watkins, whether he could have been brought to justice sooner and whether his celebrity status had any impact on those investigations.”

The South Wales Police force has been accused of failing to “take appropriate and timely action” after getting the information from other fans of the band.

South Wales Police allegedly received information from four different police forces across Britain about Watkins. The detective sergeant is also accused of not acting on a separate alleged crime in March 2012 of the alleged rape of a girl.