Relatives of a cyclist who died after he was discovered seriously injured in a country lane have finally received a formal apology from police over the handling of the case.

Canterbury College lecturer Richard Jordan died in 2011 after he was found with horrific head injuries in the city's Old Wives Lees, where he lived.

A professional standards report and the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) criticised the investigation, but all officers were cleared of misconduct.

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More than six years on, Mr Jordan’s wife, Sue, has now been sent a letter from chief constable Alan Pughsley apologising for his officers’ actions.

Mr Jordan was discovered with a seven-inch fracture to his skull and 10 broken ribs.

Police were only alerted to the incident the following day, by which time the first aid lecturer, 67, had died in hospital and the scene been cleared of any evidence.

Mrs Jordan, 70, said: “The apology has helped but it is not enough because we will no longer know what happened that day because police failed us.

"We are grateful for the formal apology, but for my family and I it is not closure.

“Following the whole ordeal, especially with the grief, it has made me feel so cynical now.”

Officers claimed there was no third-party involvement, but failed to seize and forensically examine the car of a driver who had called 999 from the scene after finding Mr Jordan.

At the inquest into Mr Jordan’s death more than a year after the tragedy, his family heard a chilling 999 call in which a couple were recorded arguing over whether or not their car hit him.

The death was recorded as an accident by the coroner, prompting Mr Jordan’s family to lodge a complaint, initially with Kent Police and later with the IPCC.

The watchdog slammed the investigation and demanded police re-examine the case.

In 2016, a police professional standards report said the investigation into his death was unprofessional and unacceptable in places, but no officer was found to be at fault for their part in the case.

The officers were cleared of any wrongdoing at a misconduct hearing in July 2016 - despite the IPCC finding they failed to properly investigate.

The professional standards report also discovered flaws with the inquiry, including the decision not to take away a car for forensic examination, potentially overlooking crucial evidence.

It was instead looked at by officers under torchlight the day after the Mr Jordan’s death, with the report saying they had in places fallen short of what is expected in any competent and thorough investigation.

Ch Con Alan Pughsley wrote in his letter to the family that senior police officials had been meeting with the family to discuss the case.

He said: “I am aware that through these meetings or correspondence, apologies have been offered to you and your family directly from each of these persons and my purpose for writing to you is to also state my regret that the actions of my officers were not what you would have expected.

"I am confident that we have applied the learning achieved in order to seek to avoid any such similar circumstances potentially occurring again.”

Police spokesman Nicola Forman said a police review of the investigation identified some "unexploited opportunities".

She said: “Our professional standards department undertook a review of the investigation into the circumstances of Richard Jordan’s death in November 2011.

“The findings of the review, which identified some unexploited opportunities, were shared with Mr Jordan’s family in March 2016.

"The apology has helped but it is not enough because we will no longer know what happened that day because police failed us" - Sue Jordan

“Mr Jordan’s family appealed to the IPCC in regards to some of the review’s findings and recommendations for misconduct. The IPCC deemed Kent Police’s level of sanction to be appropriate and further upheld the family’s appeal regarding an officer’s lack of fairness impartiality.

“Kent Police accepts the IPCC’s assessment and an internal misconduct meeting was held on 27 July 2017, which Mr Jordan’s family attended.

“The purpose of this meeting was to ascertain whether there was a case of misconduct to answer.

"The chair of the meeting was given the opportunity to consider the evidence and found none of the five officers had breached the standards of professional behaviour expected, nor were there wilful failures by the officers.

“Misconduct proceedings have now concluded.

“Kent Police has apologised to Mr Jordan’s family for the unexploited opportunities identified by the review process, and through a dedicated inspector, has kept them informed as and when significant developments have taken place.”