A FATAL crash which claimed the life of a popular police officer would not have happened if Cumbria Police had stopped using BMW vehicles which had a “startling” history of engine failure, says his widow.

PC Nick Dumphreys, 47, was responding to an emergency call on January 26, 2020, when his patrol car veered off the M6 near Carlisle and crashed.

An inquest heard that his car’s engine suffered “catastrophic failure”, spewing oil onto the tyres and road surface as he drove at high speed. There was nothing the officer – an advanced driver - could do to prevent the crash.

After hearing two weeks of evidence, Coroner Robert Cohen recorded an accidental death conclusion, and while he attributed no blame to either Cumbria Police or BMW, Mr Cohen used his power to recommend actions “to prevent future deaths.”

After the hearing, PC Dumphrey’s widow Kathryn expressed her anger that more was not done to guard against such a tragedy.

The inquest heard that the BMW N57 engine in the BMW cars used by the force –  and in other forces - had a litany of faults, known about for at least four-years. Since 2014, this engine type was failing five to seven times per month.

“That was clearly a startlingly high level of failure,” said Mr Cohen.

Yet Cumbria Police and other forces continued to use that model of BMW car, with officers regularly driving them at speed to emergencies. Yet those officers, says the Police Federation, were unaware the engine failure issue.

Mrs Dumphreys called for all UK police forces to cease using these vehicles “to ensure that no other family endures the pain and suffering that she has gone through.”

“It is absolutely staggering that Nick was sent out that day driving this car,” she said. “BMW and police forces across the country knew that these cars were not fit for purpose. But the brave police officers out there driving them had no idea that they were driving what sadly proved to be death-trap – accident or not.

“The people that needed to know did not know.” She added: “It was a catastrophic accident sadly waiting to happen. It shouldn’t have happened. It was easily preventable. Nick should still be here today.

“All I want to do is ensure that no one else is killed.”

Cumbria Chief Constable Michelle Skeer said: “The death of a police officer in the line of duty is always a tragedy. On January 26th 2020, Nick Dumphreys left home to help protect the people of Cumbria. He died responding to an emergency incident.

 “Our thoughts since that day have been with Nick's family, particularly his wife Kat and their children. PC 1724 Dumphreys was a committed roads policing officer who loved his job and was both popular with and respected by, his colleagues. 

“His loss left a hole which will never fully heal.

 “The Constabulary would like to thank the Coroner for the sensitive and professional manner with which these difficult proceedings were handled.”

* For a fuller report on this case, see tomorrow's News & Star.