Police inquiry into claims female corpses photographed at fire service

A constabulary unit is investigating claims firefighters photographed women who had died successful car accidents and shared the images connected a WhatsApp group.

In the group, antheral firefighters astatine Dorset and Wiltshire Fire Service (DWFS) are alleged to person made degrading comments astir the victims.

A pistillate firefighter told ITV News she had heard comments astir the benignant of underwear women had worn successful crashes.

DWFS said it was "shocked and appalled" by the allegations.

Dorset Police said it would pb inquiries, aft consulting Wiltshire Police.

In the report, 1 whistleblower, speaking anonymously, told ITV News: "I've seen radical marque comments astir the benignant of underwear the women are wearing successful the car crash."

The pistillate firefighter added: "Retrieving the assemblage of idiosyncratic dormant should teardrop you apart, not marque you privation to instrumentality photos of it, conscionable to gag astir it later.

"Because that's someone's loved one, isn't it? That's someone's relative."

Several pistillate firefighters besides told ITV News of persistent intersexual harassment astatine their stations, including claims a antheral firefighter demanded intersexual favours astatine the country of a fire.

In a statement, DWFS said it was "deeply concerned" by the allegations and had commissioned an autarkic inquiry.

Chief Fire Officer Ben Ansell said: "As portion of this investigation, I volition beryllium providing each of our pistillate unit with the accidental to talk to an autarkic organisation.

"We would inquire that immoderate individuals affected supply america with further accusation to let america to analyse these allegations."

A Dorset Police spokesperson added: "The constricted details disposable successful the quality study are of a precise concerning quality but volition person understandably caused interest amongst the nationalist and particularly families of victims.

"We stock that interest and volition robustly analyse immoderate accusation oregon grounds that is shared with us."

The unit said it had requested details from ITV News but had not yet been provided with immoderate information.

The allegations travel aft South Wales Fire and Rescue Service said successful December that it had launched an autarkic reappraisal of allegations of intersexual harassment.

Meanwhile, successful November, a study recovered London Fire Brigade to beryllium "institutionally misogynist and racist".