Three serving police officers have been charged with perverting the course of justice and perjury in connection with the death of a man while under restraint.

Father-of-three Kingsley Burrell died three days after dialling 999 for help because he feared he was about to be attacked by a gang while he was out walking with his young son.

But he was himself detained under the Mental Health Act and transferred to a mental health unit before he was taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham where he died.

The Crown Prosecution Service announced that following a referral from the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) it had decided there was "sufficient evidence to charge" the three West Midlands Police officers in connection with the death of Mr Burrell in 2011.

The charges relate to evidence the three policemen gave at an inquest into death of Mr Burrell held in May 2015 which concluded that "gross failures" had contributed to his death.

At the inquest hearing, the coroner said "no tragedy like this should ever happen again".

An initial CPS investigation in 2014 concluded there was not enough evidence to bring criminal charges against anyone involved.

Kingsley Burrell's relatives have protested for months at what they claim was a delay in a decision on whether or not to charge, recently staging a sit-in at the CPS Birmingham office to highlight the issue.

In a statement following the announcement, a spokesman for the family said: "The Burrell family welcome today's decision to prosecute the three officers concerned, in the belief that they must be publicly held to account for their actions in the circumstances surrounding the death of Kingsley.

"This has been a long time coming and the fight for justice for Kingsley continues. At this stage we have no further comment."

Constables Paul Adey, 36, Mark Fannon, 45, and Paul Greenfield, 50, will appear at Birmingham Magistrates Court on October 31.

West Midlands Police said all three officers have been suspended.