THE police service centre that did not act on a report about a crashed car which contained a dead man and his dying partner until three days later had been hit by staff absences, it has emerged.

Independent investigations are under way after Lamara Bell and John Yuill died in a Renault Clio which went off the M9 near Bannockburn.

The couple had been visiting Loch Earn on Sunday July 5 and lay there for three days despite the alert being raised by a passing motorist whose call had been linked to the Bilston Glen centre in Midlothian.

A source connected to the centre said staff have been under severe pressure after the closure and centralisation of call centres following the formation of the Police Scotland single force two years ago.

The couple from the Falkirk area were only found three days later after a second call to the centre. Mr Yuill, 28, was already dead and Ms Bell was in a critical condition. The 25-year-old died four days later in hospital in Glasgow.

But staff at the east centre which takes the 101 calls had 15 members of staff absent as of mid-June.

The figures were revealed in a Scottish Police Authority report, and the east centre total was said to equate to 10 per cent of staff being absent.

Scottish Conservative justice spokeswoman Margaret Mitchell MSP said: "This is a deeply distressing tragedy, all the more so because the warning signs that emerged months ago were completely ignored by the Scottish Government.

"A 10 per cent absence rate is completely unacceptable in a high pressure environment where people’s lives depend on calls being handled quickly and efficiently.

"Service centre staff are already overburdened from excessive centralisation, but the sheer number of vacancies and lost advisor hours are only putting them under more strain.

"The buck stops with the Scottish Government on this and the public will no doubt wonder why it is constantly on the back foot with Police Scotland."

The news of the pressures on the call centre comes as Liam Bell, Ms Bell's brother, signed a petition calling for the resignation of Chief Constable Sir Stephen House and Justice Secretary Michael Matheson.

Almost 700 people have now signed the online petition, which was set up following the death of the young mother on Sunday.

Mr Bell said: "My sister could have still been alive if it had not been for there failure to attend an accident."

Martin Bell, another brother of Ms Bell, has separately urged mourners to wear bright colours to his sister's funeral, which he said online will be arranged after her body is released.

Justice Secretary Michael Matheson has ordered Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) to undertake an urgent review of all police call handling following the incident.

The case is also subject to an independent probe by the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner.