WORRIED trainers are ‘angry and frustrated’ after Essex cops dropped an investigation into the so-called ‘Acid Man’ — barely three weeks after identifying a suspect.
As first reported by Sun Racing, a man who called himself ‘the acid man’ phoned TEN trainers from a withheld number in November and shockingly threatened to throw acid in their faces at the races.
Among the top trainers to receive the sickening calls was legendary Nicky Henderson, popular Sussex handler Gary Moore and Newmarket-based Charlie Fellowes.
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The National Trainers Federation contacted Essex Police, who interviewed several of the victims and launched a probe.
The police report, provided to the NTF through a freedom of information request, showed on April 2 they had identified a person who used a credit card to top up the phone used to make the calls.
Essex Police said they were going to hand the investigation over to a local policing team, in this case Police Scotland.
But on April 26 they closed the investigation without having spoken to the man in question and without having ever formally transferred it to the other force.
The NTF launched a campaign last year to crackdown on abuse and threats towards trainers and they have employed private investigator, Sean Memory, to help track down and confront the people responsible.
He has been liaising with police and said two of the telephone calls were recorded by shocked trainers, so the person’s voice could have been used as evidence.
The top-up was made at an Asda supermarket in Fife but, by the time cops followed up their inquiry at the store, too much time had passed and CCTV footage had been automatically erased.
Paul Johnson, chief of the NTF, said: “It is infuriating for the victims and the NTF to have invested so much time in an investigation only to learn the police do not appear to have seen through to a conclusion, despite having identified a suspect some time ago.
“I understand that the police are busier than ever but it simply does not appear that they have completed this investigation in full.
“Some of the officers involved at the outset were very helpful and seemed to really want to find the person responsible.
“In the end though this seems to have fizzled out for reasons unknown and we have found it very difficult to communicate with the officer in charge.
“Perhaps there is a reason why this has been dropped before speaking to the suspect but we have not been provided with one.”
Johnson said he would go on reporting incidents of serious abuse aimed at trainers, but this has definitely shaken his confidence in the police ever getting a successful prosecution.
He continued: “We have to keep on reporting threats of such a serious nature but I am left questioning what is the point of doing so.
“Here we have a case where ten trainers were subjected to real threats of physical harm, a suspect was identified and, from what we have seen under the freedom of information request, the police have not even bothered interviewing them.
“Is it now considered acceptable by the police to phone people up and threaten to spray acid in their faces without any fear of recrimination?
“We are pursuing people who are sending any abusive content and challenging them on it. In most cases, people appear quite remorseful and tell us that they will cease.
“It is just disappointing that with such a serious case, we have had to rely on the police to carry out a full investigation and they appear to have come up short, so there is definitely a degree of anger.”
Fellowes, who took the vile call on loudspeaker while with his wife and young kid, is frustrated at the result but also has some sympathy with the police.
He said: “Sadly trainers have become used to getting abuse these days, though I’ve never had anything quite as bad as the acid man.
“It’s frustrating when the investigation lasts this long and there isn’t a prosecution at the end of it.
“But the police are pretty stretched these days and they probably have bigger fish to fry, so I understand it must be difficult for them.”
Essex Police said: ‘We received multiple reports of malicious communications on 10 November 2023.
“In total, ten victims were identified. A thorough investigation was launched and the reports were being treated as linked.
“Unfortunately due to a lack of positive lines of enquiry, the investigation was filed in May 2024. Should further information be submitted, the investigation could be reopened.”
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