Upminster: Body Found In Cement Mixer To Be Exhumed

The body of a man who died in a cement mixter in Upminster more than 10 years ago is going to be exhumed.

Lorry driver Lee, 33, was found with his head and shoulders wedged between the drum and chassis of a cement mixer at a farm in Upminster in July 2002.

An investigation by Essex Police concluded that Mr Balkwell, of Hornchurch, died accidentally while an inquest in 2008 recorded a verdict of unlawful killing through gross negligence.

His father Les Balkwell has made more than 130 complaints to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) about the way the force conducted the inquiry, along with the way they subsequently handled his concerns.

The watchdog investigated 92 of these complaints and found 11 of them substantiated, eight partially substantiated and the remainder unsubstantiated.

In January 2012, the watchdog ruled that Essex police's investigation into Lee Balkwell was "seriously flawed".

Then in November 2012 police arrested five people in connection with his death.

They remain on bail.