Police say sorry to businessman told to wait until the next day for officers as he watched his firm being raided

Paul Smart watched the £20,000 theft take place in real time at his Brierley Hill photographic firm back in May.

When he called 999 to report the theft he said he was first told to call the non-emergency number 101 and was then told police would not come out until the next morning.

A letter sent out to Mr Smart by Chief Inspector Gary Wade of West Mercia Police stated that he wished to 'express regret' for what happened on behalf of the force.

However, the officer who took the original call has only been punished by way of being 'advised of the correct process in handling these calls'.

In the letter, Chief Inspector Wade said: "I'd like to take this opportunity to express regret on behalf of Warwickshire Police and West Mercia Police for the fact you were dissatisfied with the service you received on this occasion.

"I hope that the manner in which this matter has subsequently been dealt with has gone some way towards restoring your trust and confidence in the service we deliver."

A report on the action taken against the officer who took Mr Smart's call, also written by Chief Inspector Wade, reads: "I was made aware of Mr Smart's complaint as a result of an enquiry from Corporate Communications.

"I immediately had the audio recording of the call reviewed and listened to it myself.

"I then telephoned Mr Smart and listened to his concerns.

"I explained what should have happened and how our service had fallen short.

"The subject has been advised by their superior of the correct process in handling these calls.

"A wider OCC audit did not find any repeat of this error."

Despite the apology, Mr Smart has asked that the matter be taken to the "Warwickshire Police and West Mercia Police Independent Appeals Panel.

This is due to a line in the report which states the result of the officer saying West Mercia Police could not take details of the crime was 'a delay in Mr Smart being able to inform the police of a crime in action'.

However, Mr Smart wrote in reply to Chief Inspector Wade: "This is clearly not correct, the result of your call handler's advice was the call being DOWNGRADED to a Police Non Emergency which resulted in West Midlands Police refusing to attend the scene of a break in and theft in progress.

"In fact the failure to attend allowed the criminals, armed with metal bars, to return to the scene of crime almost an hour after the first call was made to 999."

The raiders made off with computers, keyboards, trackpads and laptops from Mr Smart's commercial design and photographic studio Doodah Creative.

Along with damage to the shutter over a window caused when they forced entry, the overall cost inflicted on the firm will be between £20,000 and £25,000.