Retired South Yorkshire Police officer subjected to 'serious mistreatment' by suspects wins £157,000 payout

Former sergeant Lloyd Kelly, 63, was forced to retire in 2005 with PTSD after being subjected to ‘serious mistreatment’ when a suspected criminal gang found out he had them under surveillance.

It wasn’t until 2017 that he made a claim to the force for an ‘ill health’ pension after learning about the scheme.

But instead of paying him for the full decade of living with his disability since he retired, Mr Kelly was only awarded for the one year since he made the claim – something South Yorkshire Police went on to tenaciously defend in court.

Now, after a four-year legal dispute with his former bosses, a High Court has ruled Mr Kelly deserves the 11 years of pension he should have had from the day he retired, amounting to more than £157,000.

The groundbreaking ruling also sets a precedent for other disability pension claimants who may only have been paid from the day they made the claim, not from since they stopped working.

Mr Kelly, who now lives in Lincolnshire, said: “This process took me over five and a half years to come to a conclusion. At times it was extremely slow which made matters worse.

"It was a very difficult experience which should not have been necessary.

"I believe they (South Yorkshire Police) were deliberately obstructive. In the end, justice has prevailed.”

In the course of the legal battle, SYP disputed My Kelly was owed the pension dating back to his retirement in 2006.

When this was rejected by a crown court in 2018, sitting Judge Robert Moore even moved to award Mr Kelly three per cent annual interest for the decade-long gap.

But this was further appealed by SYP, who took the case to the High Court and argued the crown court did not have the jurisdiction to dish out the awarded interest.

Now, after a final cross appeal by Mr Kelly, the original order awarding the former officer his 11 years of pension with interest has been upheld.

South Yorkshire Police has been contacted for a comment.

Mr Kelly said: “The journey over the last five years has been arduous.

"The delay was very frustrating at times. In those five and a half years I have been admitted to hospital twice - once with severe sepsis, the second time for a life-saving major operation linked to the sepsis. I doubted whether I would live to see the result. But today, things are now finally a great deal brighter.”

The former officer was represented by David Lock QC, solicitor Greta Mallinson of Slater + Gordon Solicitors, the Police Federation of England and Wales and IODPA, an organisation that supports injured officers.

Greta Mallinson, associate at Slater + Gordon, said: " I am conscious that it takes an enormous amount of energy to challenge unfair decisions about police pension rights, particularly for those officers who have suffered an injury to their mental health during the course of their service.

"I am hopeful that this decision will ensure that all other injured former police officers are able to establish their right to an injury pension from the date of their retirement.”