Baby death probe was inadequate

Marianne Williams was acquitted of Joshua's murder

An investigation into the death of a child in 2004 was not good enough, according to an independent report.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) report follows the death of Joshua Taylor who collapsed with abnormally high levels of sodium.

His mother Marianne Williams was acquitted of the 15-month-old's murder.

The IPCC substantiated two of 12 complaints brought against Wiltshire Police relating to searches of the family home in Tidworth.

Procedural matters

The child's grandmother had claimed these failings had later consequences at the crown court trial of Mrs Williams, but the commission said there was no evidence to support this.

The IPCC also said Wiltshire Police had since made improvements to how it investigated infant death and the officers responsible had been dealt with under police misconduct processes.

On Wednesday Wiltshire Police said it recognised there were minor procedural defects in the investigation and apologised to the family.

In a statement, the force said: "The IPCC acknowledged that these procedural matters had no impact on the outcome of the police investigation and Wiltshire Police has learnt lessons from this investigation and acted upon them."

Police originally searched the home Ms Williams shared with her partner Paul Taylor after doctors had raised concerns that Joshua had been poisoned when he was admitted to Southampton General Hospital on 24 February, 2004.

He died three days later after high salt levels in his blood led to severe brain damage.

Ms Williams, originally from Wales, was on anti-depressants at the time of her son's death and she told police in an interview that she could not cope with looking after him.