Moved out: ACC Steve Heywood and his wife left their home after threats

A police force bought a senior officer's house because he had been targeted by notorious killer Dale Cregan – then cynically sold it to a young couple without warning them of the danger, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

The astonishing cover-up happened after one-eyed Cregan – who murdered two female PCs – vowed to take revenge on Assistant Chief Constable Steve Heywood, who helped put him behind bars.

ACC Heywood moved out of his family home because of the threat. Greater Manchester Police and the local crime tsar then took the highly unusual step of using taxpayers' money to buy it for £205,000.

It was then sold to a young married couple – but GMP failed to tell them the chilling reason it had been put on the market. The couple moved in with their two young children.

The police frantically sent a senior detective round to the house on Friday to 'reassure' the family only after this newspaper uncovered the deal.

Last night the couple – whose identities we are protecting – told this newspaper of their fear and anger at being kept in the dark about the risk from Cregan and how they fear retribution from his underworld associates. They are also now considering legal action against the force.

The woman said: 'I am quite scared over the whole thing – I just do not understand why they did not tell us. I want to know whether they considered it to be a threat and whether at any time they considered telling us about it.

'How would they know if we were still under threat, because they would not have told Cregan that the police officer had moved? I am going to speak to the police again face- to-face and I want some answers. We were betrayed – there are no two ways about it.'

When they moved into the four-bedroom detached property in Greater Manchester, the couple knew it was being sold by the police and noted that it was equipped with two burglar alarms.

Sold on: A family moved into the house in this estate, unaware of its history

At the time, they were simply told that the previous occupant was moving with his job which 'happens from time to time'.

But ACC Heywood and his wife Janet, who lived there for almost 20 years, had actually left a year earlier – after being told that he was at risk over his role in the hunt for the notorious drug dealer and murderer.

In a deadly rampage across Greater Manchester lasting several months in 2012, Cregan had shot dead one man in a pub, then killed the victim's father with a hand grenade. He then made a hoax 999 call to which PCs Nicola Hughes and Fiona Bone responded. They died when he threw a grenade at them and opened fire.

In June 2013, Cregan was given a whole life sentence – meaning he will never be released – for all four murders.

Last week, David Cameron unveiled a memorial to the fallen officers in one of his first official acts after quitting as Prime Minister.

Sources told this newspaper that after his conviction, 33-year-old Cregan confessed that while on the run, he had considered killing ACC Heywood after seeing him make an appeal for him to hand himself in.

Notorious: Criminal Dale Cregan saw ACC Heywood as a target for revenge while on the run

The force considered the threat to be genuine and so decided, highly unusually, to step in and help the officer move house.

GMP said it spent almost £30,000 on arranging the move for ACC Heywood, who was paid an estimated £100,000 a year.

Documents seen by The Mail on Sunday show that the property first went on the market on September 7, 2013, for £205,000. It was finally sold in September 2014, after lying empty for a year, by estate agents Urban Vision for £190,000.

I'm scared. I don't understand why they didn't tell us

A GMP spokesman admitted that the couple were not told of the threat to its former occupant.

He defended the move by saying the threat 'was not against them' – however Cregan and his associates would not have known that ACC Heywood, 50, had moved out.

He left the force in 2014 to become a deputy director of the National Crime Agency, intended to be Britain's equivalent of the FBI.

The spokesman said: 'In 2013, GMP became aware of a threat against ACC Steve Heywood linked to his involvement in the investigation into Dale Cregan and the murders which he was suspected of committing. After assessing the risk to ACC Heywood, assistance was provided for him and his family to move house. This included the purchase and subsequent sale of his house and associated costs. The total costs were £27,528. The Police and Crime Commissioner Tony Lloyd made the decision after considering information provided by the Chief Constable.

Killed: PCs Fiona Bone, left, and Nicola Hughes were murdered by Cregan

'The purchasers of the house were not at that time informed of the risk to ACC Heywood as the risk was considered to be against him and not his former house. There was also a year between the purchase of the house and its subsequent sale, during which time the property was vacant.

'We have since spoken to the family who purchased the house to explain this decision and to offer them reassurance.'

The family is now anxious for Manchester's criminal underworld to know that the police officer once in Cregan's sights is no longer living there. 'Whatever or whoever these alleged threats were directed at, Steve Heywood is long gone from this property,' said the woman.

'We should have known when we were buying the house. It is as simple as that. At the very minimum, that information would be important for us to know because it may have informed our decision [to buy].'

I want to get some answers

After the MoS made enquiries about the extraordinary case, a senior officer from GMP visited the homeowners on Friday evening. He assured them that they do not believe the family are currently at risk, and tried to explain their decision not to tell them of the death threats to the previous occupant.

But the couple say he did not answer their questions and they are now considering legal action against the police force. They claim the officer who attended the family home admitted that the force had been at fault.

'They agreed that we should have been told. He said to me that he understood why I would feel like this. He agrees we should have been told,' the woman added. 'I am thankful for their response but I do want to get some answers. I want to know why the police considered Mr Heywood's safety and security more important than mine or my family's. He can't answer that – he said he could understand why I am asking.'

Tony Lloyd, the Labour PCC for GMP, said: 'This was the right decision to take at that time and it remains the right decision.