Police control room closures should be put on hold, according to an interim report into call handling by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS).

Justice Minister Michael Matheson ordered the review after a young couple lay in a wrecked car for three days because police failed to respond to a report.

Lamara Bell, 25, lost her fight for life a week after she was critically injured in the crash off the M9 near Stirling on Sunday July 5. Her boyfriend John Yuill, 28, died at the scene.

The Interim Report on Independent Assurance Review of Police Call Handling has made one interim recommendation for Police Scotland on the future direction for Contact, Command and Control (C3) facilities prior to the publication of its full report at the end of October.

HM Inspector of Constabulary in Scotland, Derek Penman, said: “HMICS recognises the constraints placed upon Police Scotland as a result of staff shortages in Bilston Glen, Inverness, Aberdeen and Dundee, but considers that the practice of diverting overflow calls to the main sites in Govan, Motherwell and Bilston Glen is creating additional risk.

“This will not be resolved until there is a full complement of trained staff supported by effective systems, processes and procedures in the main sites and we strongly believe that, until that is the case, the facilities in Inverness, Aberdeen and Dundee should remain in place.”