In March 2023, Manning was informed that Lancashire Constabulary had dropped the case because Khan claimed he had lost his previous phone and that they could not charge him without further evidence.

He threatened to appeal this decision and was later informed that the police had exercised the Victim’s Right of Review on his behalf and would reopen the case.

Officers eventually determined that the device from which the search was made was the suspect’s current phone.

However, despite Manning’s insistent guidance, it took another three months for Khan to be arrested.

Khan was charged with malicious communication by sending an offensive, indecent or threatening message by December 2023, 14 months after the calls. “I’m sorry it took this long, but we finally got there,” an officer told Manning.

Thousands of previous obscene calls

Khan finally appeared at Lancaster magistrates’ court this month, where he claimed he may have used another person’s phone to make the obscene phone call.

He was found guilty but will not be sentenced to another two months in prison.

Manning later found an article in the Lancashire Telegraph in 2015 titled “Blackburn man made 15,000 ‘dirty’ calls to complete strangers in 91 days” and reported that the same man had been found guilty of public nuisance.

A Lancashire Constabulary officer was even quoted as saying: “The scale of the incident was quite breathtaking.” This suggested that police should have been aware of Khan’s past when investigating him in 2023.

“I am appalled that this has been such a monumental effort and wonder how many other people who have committed crimes have gone unpunished because of inefficiency, failures and delays,” Manning said.

“Achieving justice should not be this difficult, and achieving justice should not be a struggle for the victim.”

Data for England and Wales shows police are increasingly focusing on so-called non-criminal hate incidents, while burglary and shoplifting remain unpunished. Tens of thousands of NCHIs have been recorded since 2014.

The Met Police admitted its handling of the case was “clearly inadequate”.

Lancashire Police said the initial response “did not meet the expected standard”.