There was a "serious failure" to safely manage a police armoury where an officer accessed a gun used to take his own life, a coroner has said, urging action to be taken to prevent more deaths.

Sean Duignan, an armed response sergeant at Bedfordshire Police, was found dead on the gym floor in the police unit at Luton Airport in May 2021.

Two days earlier, the 44-year-old had been arrested on suspicion of drink or drug driving, and released the following day under investigation.

"That seems to have been a likely trigger for Sean to take his own life," Bedfordshire assistant coroner Sean Cummings said, adding that he was "a well-respected, well-liked and universally helpful base sergeant".

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Mr Cummings said "the lax approach to safety and security" at the police armoury by senior management was "extraordinary", and had been lax for a prolonged period.

Following the conclusion of Mr Duignan's inquest, Mr Cummings has written to Bedfordshire Police Chief Constable Trevor Rodenhurst this month, urging him to take action.

"In my opinion, there is a risk that future deaths could occur unless action is taken," he said.

"There was a serious failure by senior management to effectively and safely manage the armoury. 

"The computer system used for electronic access was repeatedly failing, but seemingly no coherent approach was taken to remedy this.

"The back up master armoury key was kept in a PIN protected locked box, but the PIN number was universally known."

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A colleague "unwittingly let Sean, whose own electronic access to the armoury had been restricted without his colleagues being informed, into the armoury," Mr Cummings said.

She "reasonably thought" Mr Duignan's electronic access had failed because the computer system had failed again, he explained.

Chief Constable Rodenhurst has until March 13 to respond to the coroner's concerns, with details of actions taken or proposed to be taken, setting out the timetable for action.

Due to the nature of the incident, the investigation has been transferred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

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