Couple asked by 999 service to cut down dead hanged man

A couple who discovered a man hanged close to a park pond were asked by a police operator if they 'fancied cutting him down', after they found the body of Juris Mednis, hanging from a tree in Bedford Park, Bedford.

Stacey Dungavel said: "We had just commented on how nice the park was then took the short cut through the woodland. We watched a squirrel up a tree then I turned around and saw the man hanging.

"I was screaming at my husband to please tell me it's not real, he told me it was then he phoned the police.



"While he was on the phone to the operator, she asked him questions about the body, then she asked my husband if he 'fancied cutting him down'.

"That would have looked great having my husband's DNA all over the man, then the police turning up and finding the body on the floor next to us, I don't think it was good advice at all."

A police spokesman said: "As to the suggestion that the caller was requested to cut the victim down, this is something that would be investigated should an official complaint be made."