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A police officer who ignored calls for help from a man who was beaten to death by vigilantes because she was eating a pot noodle has been sacked .

PC Leanne Winter, 38, said she was 'busy' to avoid speaking to disabled Bijan Ebrahimi, 44, who had been falsely branded a paedophile.

A second officer, PC Helen Harris, 40, was also sacked after she refused to speak to Bijan, telling him "I can't even be bothered to waste my energy on you."

The innocent immigrant made 12 desperate calls to police officers begging for help in the days leading up to his killing, in July 2013.

When the two officers visited Bijan they found a vigilante mob outside his home - but rather than dealing with the jeering crowd they arrested him instead.

The Iranian was later set on fire on his doorstep, in Brislington, Bristol, by neighbour Lee James, who wrongly believed he was filming his children for sexual purposes.

(Image: PA)

Emma Nott, chairman of the misconduct panel, said "station rumours" about Mr Ebrahimi being a time waster had led to the officers to arrest the wrong man.

The panel also heard that while at the station, PC Harris treated Mr Ebrahimi "unprofessionally, rudely and unkindly" over the course of an hour.

He was released without charge the following morning.

After Mr Ebrahimi had been released, he made several unanswered calls for help to police over the following days before the brutal murder.

In one conversation just before his murder, PC Winter told a call handler said she could not speak to Mr Ebrahimi because she was on patrol.

But she was actually "stuffing her face" with a Pot Noodle at the police station, an earlier court hearing was told.

She also said she was not interested in speaking to him ever and called him a "pest "and an "absolute idiot".

Within 36 hours James had beaten him unconscious before his body was set alight on grassland of the estate.

(Image: PA Wire)

Ms Nott said: "The officers had grounds to arrest Mr James, but they considered Mr Ebrahimi to be a liar and that was the end of the investigation."

She added that the panel believed James had threatened Mr Ebrahimi for a second time, in front of the officers, but they still took no action.

Ms Nott said: "Even with the hostility of the crowd, Mr James should have been arrested.

"That would have given the onlookers the clearest message that the rumours were unfounded and that threats to Mr Ebrahimi would not be tolerated.

"There was no lawful or rational basis for this (Mr Ebrahimi's) arrest."

She added: "It morphed into a neighbourhood-wide paedophile hunt."

The panel heard that PC Harris had even told James she "would have done the same", which Ms Nott said had validated James' behaviour.

It found that both officers had breached professional standards in failing to arrest James, by arresting Mr Ebrahimi and by failing to treat him with respect and courtesy.

They said each breach equated to gross misconduct.

(Image: PA)

Speaking on behalf of Helen Harris, Raymond Tully said the 40-year-old had been suspended for the past three years after joining the force in 2002.

He said: "She found herself in an extremely trying and difficult situation. She was flawed but she was trying her very best.

"It occurred in circumstances where she was drawing towards the end of her shift.

"The final two hours were extremely difficult and testing. She had become extremely frustrated. She was feeling tired and let down. In these circumstances she lost it."

Mitigating on behalf of Leanne Winter, David Hughes added that his client was operating in extremely difficult circumstances and had to make tough decisions.

He added: "She has been gravely affected in the three years she has been suspended and having to deal with the consequences of what happened that night.

"There were systematic failings of the force. It would be a tragedy of justice if Leanne Winter were to lose her job and she does not deserve that."

But Ms Nott said given the three separate findings of gross misconduct the only sanction was dismissal without notice.

(Image: PA)

Both women had previously been cleared of criminal misconduct by a jury at Bristol Crown Court.

PC Kevin Duffy, who failed to investigate because he "disliked" Bijan and PSCO Andrew Passmore, who lied about how long he spend on patrol were found guilty and jailed.

Lee James, 24, beat Bijan Ebrahimi to death in Capgrave Crescent, Brislington, before dragging the body to nearby Whitmore Avenue.

He then set it alight with the aid of white spirit supplied by accomplice and neighbour Stephen Norley, also 24 at the time.

(Image: SWNS)

James was jailed for life and will serve a minimum of 18 years behind bars after admitting murdering Mr Ebrahimi, 44.

Norley, who admitted assisting an offender, was jailed for four years.

Speaking after the hearing, Avon and Somerset Constabulary Chief Constable Andy Marsh said: "We failed Bijan in his hour of need.

"I am unreservedly sorry for the pain and heartache his family have suffered in the years since."

He added that, since Bijan's death, the force has placed greater emphasis on solving community disputes and protecting vulnerable people.

It has also invested in a new call handling and record management system to make prioritising calls easier.

Chief Constable Marsh added: "Officers are faced with difficult situations and difficult decisions every day.

"But it's clear that we had opportunities to change the tragic outcome for Bijan and we failed to take them.

"The actions of a very small number of individuals had a catastrophic effect. They fell well short of those qualities the public expect of us."