HEALTH services that dealt with a double murderer before he committed his crimes should have spotted the “significant probability that he would re-offend”, a report has found.

James Allen attacked 81-year-old Colin Dunford in his Middlesbrough terrace home, then stabbed Julie Davison, 50, to death at her flat in Whitby three days later.

The double killing sparked a huge manhunt, which ended in Leeds when an off-duty police officer spotted Allen. Allen, 36 at the time, was convicted of murdering his vulnerable victims in April 2012. He was jailed for at least 37 years.

At the time of the offences, Allen was receiving care from Tees, Esk & Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust, a provider of mental-health services.

The NHS England report, which refers to Allen as Mr F, said: “There were many deficiencies and missed opportunities by both primary and secondary healthcare services where important information could have been sought and shared. If obtained, this information would have enabled a more accurate assessment of Mr F’s risk factors and would have alerted agencies to his potential for re-offending. There was enough evidence to indicate that Mr F was a vulnerable individual who had significant known risk factors.”

It was Niche Patient Safety’s opinion that services should have identified that there was a significant probability that he would re-offend.