A police force has been criticised for a "series of errors" in the way it handled the disappearance of Jayden Parkinson before her murder.

Jayden, who grew up in Folkestone before moving to Didcot in Oxfordshire, was pregnant when she was killed by her former boyfriend in December 2013.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) launched an investigation into the way Thames Valley Police handled the 17-year-old's disappearance and their contact with her.

The police watchdog released its final report today identifying a number of failings over the case.

It found TVP failed to "record pertinent information and to allocate sufficient resources to progress earlier inquiries".

"Jayden was clearly vulnerable when she came to police attention a number of times prior to her death." Guido Liguori, IPCC

It added this had a "detrimental impact" on how the force later conducted its missing person investigation - even though Jayden had already been murdered by the time she was reported missing.

Jayden's body was found in a graveyard in Didcot after she was murdered by Ben Blakeley, who is now serving a life sentence for her murder.

IPCC associate commissioner Guido Liguori said: “Jayden Parkinson had already been murdered by Ben Blakeley when she was reported missing and therefore the actions the police should have taken could not have prevented her tragic death.

“However, Jayden was clearly vulnerable when she came to police attention a number of times prior to her death.

"If information about these interactions had been correctly recorded on police systems, Jayden would have been treated as a high priority when she later went missing.

"Unfortunately it took nearly a week for the force to identify that Jayden was a high risk missing person.”

The IPCC has now made recommendations to the force.

These include improvements to how the force records information on its computer systems.

Three TVP officers were given official warnings by the force in October following misconduct proceedings against them.

One officer admitted breaching the standards of professional behaviour in respect of orders and instructions and duties and responsibilities. He received a written warning.

The other two officers were found to have breached the same standards of professional behaviour and were given final written warnings - the highest sanction in misconduct hearings.

A fourth member of staff - a police community support officer (PCSO) - was found to have no case to answer.