Cops could have saved Ann from blaze hell boyfriend

Inquiry finds officers failed to share mental health risk concerns with frontline workers

- DAVID MEIKLE

THE death of a businesswoman set alight by her ex-partner could have been avoided if police had warned her of the danger he posed, a sheriff has ruled.

Kevin Marks, 52, stood over Ann Drummond, 47, and laughed as she rolled around the ground in a bid to extinguish the flames engulfing her body.

He started the lethal blaze in her car at a road near Bathgate, West Lothian, in June 2019.

Medics found more than 80 per cent of mum Ann's body was injured by burns. They concluded her injuries were so severe that she couldn't survive.

She later died at Glasgow's Royal Infirmary.

Ann had picked up Marks from court after he was released on bail for other offences when he committed the lethal attack.

He was charged with murder but prosecutors later accepted a not guilty plea on the basis his mental health was so poor that he was not responsible for his actions.