Police took seven days to investigate concerns for a man who was later found dead, it has emerged.

Officers discovered Andrew Bow's body at his Edinburgh flat on March 23 last year.

Fears about the 37-year-old, who suffered from Asperger syndrome, had first been reported on March 16.

Two neighbours, a local shopkeeper and Edinburgh City Council all reported concerns but they were not followed up.

It is unclear if Mr Bow's life might have been saved if police had responded sooner but an inquiry by the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner found a series of failings in the way the case was handled.

Commissioner Kate Frame said: "It is particularly concerning that despite several members of the public contacting the police to express their concerns, Police Scotland appear to have taken no action in relation to the first approach and thereafter in response to the subsequent calls, failed to dispatch officers who were available to investigate.

"Whilst there may have been confusion in identifying the correct address from the original report, the person who contacted the police on the second occasion offered to remain at his premises and point out the flat to officers.

"Had that opportunity been taken, the police would have been able to identify the deceased's flat and investigate matters sooner."

She added: "Since it has not been possible to establish precisely when Andrew Bow died, it is not certain whether an earlier response by police could have led to him being found alive and his life saved.

"I have made a number of recommendations to the chief constable to ensure the handling of calls by staff at Bilston Glen are managed better, within the required timescales and that all available officers are sent to priority calls, especially those of concern about a vulnerable person."

Police Scotland's call handling team - known internally as C3 Division - faced criticism following the deaths of a young couple in an M9 road crash.

Lamara Bell and her boyfriend John Yuill suffered fatal injuries when their car ran off the motorway near Stirling in July 2015.

It later emerged a witness had reported the accident to police but the call was not logged and the emergency services did not find the couple for three days.

An inquiry into Police Scotland's handling of the incident uncovered serious flaws in the way it dealt with 999 and 101 calls.

Mr Bow was last seen by police on March 12 after a member of the public reported seeing him acting strangely in Holyrood Park.

They took him to the Royal Edinburgh Hospital, where he was examined by doctors who felt he was fit to be sent home.

Three days later, on May 16, Edinburgh City Council told police windows in Mr Bow's flat had been broken and asked them to visit his home.

No action was taken, however, and on March 21 the damage was reported again by a local shopkeeper.

He offered to take officers to the flat but control room staff said no officers were available. He called again the next day with the same result.

A neighbour also contacted police on March 22, warning police Mr Bow may have "hurt himself" or "committed suicide" but still no officers were sent.

On March 23, a week after they received the initial report, a police sergeant in Edinburgh sent officers to Mr Bow's flat, where they found him dead.

Police Scotland has apologised to Ms Bow's family.

Assistant chief constable Nelson Telfer said: "There were some shortcomings in relation to the events that led to Andrew's death in March 2016. We would like to offer our sincere apologies to Andrew's family and friends for that."

Mr Telfer said "significant changes and improvements" have been made in Police Scotland's call centres since Mr Bow's death.

"Additional quality assurance measures have been adopted and deployment processes have been put in place to ensure that available local policing resources are identified and tasked to attend calls," he added.

"Staff have also received training in recognising risk and vulnerability at the first point of contact. These improvements have already significantly contributed towards addressing the two recommendations made by Pirc."

George Graham, chairman of the policing committee of the Scottish Police Authority, said the Pirc's report "highlights a poor and disjointed police response".