Bones found on property of convicted stalker jailed for harassing his neighbour while naked are identified as Second World War RAF airmen killed on 1944 secret mission

 Human remains found on the property of a convicted stalker have been identified as two Second World War RAF airmen killed on a secret mission in 1944.

The skeletons were found at the dilapidated North Yorkshire home of Ken Ward, 74, after he was jailed for harassing neighbour Mandy Dunford while naked and possessing an arsenal of illegal weaponry.They were discovered at the military expert's remote property near Chop Gate, in the Hambleton district, on March 31, 2020, along with war memorabilia, following his release from prison.

The bodies have now been identified as Alfred Robert William Milne and Eric Alan Stubbs, both 22, who flew with the covert 618 squadron, tasked with the development and use of the 'bouncing bomb' during the war.   

North Yorkshire Police and the Ministry of Defence Police say they have now concluded their investigation without any further charges being brought against Ward.

Farmer Mandy Dunford, 61 (right), had been subject to a nine-year campaign of intimidation and harassment from military historian Kenneth Ward, 74 (left), who was jailed for exposing himself to her in 2011, was released from prison and allowed to return to his home

Human remains found on the property of a convicted stalker have been identified as two Second World War RAF airmen (pictured: police at the Chopgate home in 2020)

The bodies have now been identified as Alfred Robert William Milne and Eric Alan Stubbs, both 22

The Crown Prosecution Service has determined that there is not enough evidence to pursue suspected offences, the force said.

The two Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve air crew were killed when their Mosquito aircraft crashed on the North York Moors near Bransdale, Helmsley, on October 11 1944.

Pilot Officer Milne and Warrant Officer Stubbs were on a training exercise from RAF Beccles in Suffolk to RAF Turnberry in Ayrshire.

North Yorkshire Police said the men, who were both from Surrey, were reunited with their families and given military burials on August 12 last year.

Detective Inspector Carol Kirk, the North Yorkshire Police senior investigating officer, said: 'At the beginning of this investigation, I don't think any of us thought we'd be able to identify who the remains belonged to, let alone return them to their families and be given military burials with the dignity and respect that they deserved.

North Yorkshire Police and the Ministry of Defence Police say they have now concluded their investigation without any further charges being brought against Ward 

'Even without being able to progress the investigation to court, we still believe this is a significant achievement.

'I have recently had contact with both families and they wish to pass on their thanks to all those involved in bringing Alfred and Eric home.'

DI Kirk added: 'On behalf of the investigation team, I thank North Yorkshire Police, Ministry of Defence Police, Army and RAF colleagues who have played a part in this highly complex and challenging operation.'

She also thanked residents 'whose daily lives were disrupted for many weeks while this activity was ongoing at the location'.

Among the military haul, police found a loaded Luger pistol under his pillow and the cockpit of a WW2 fighter plane with working machine guns. 

Ward was jailed for five years in December 2011 after a nine-year campaign of harassment against Miss Dunford, a retired police officer, in which he crept around her property naked night and day. 

Mr Ward tried to return to the property upon his release in 2015 only for a court intervention

Sometimes he would be dressed only in military boots and would be shouldering a rifle. 

The court heard how he climbed ladders with his trousers down, and watched his victim through binoculars while pleasuring himself.

Miss Dunford revealed her torment in 2015 after Ward was released from prison and tried to move back to his home - but was prevented from doing so by intervention from Chancellor Rishi Sunak, Miss Dunford's local MP. 

She told how Ward would follow her around naked, appearing at her property every day for nine years.

He and his brother Brian, who also lived at the cottage but died in 2002, would leave piles of maggot-infested animal carcasses outside her home. 

Miss Dunford and her pal Wendy Coulthard, 54, another retired cop, used their policing skills to trap Ward using hidden camera footage after her former colleagues failed to act despite reporting him several times.

Their footage shows Ward repeating his bizarre ritual daily as the seasons change - even standing half naked in deep snow during one of the hardest winters on record.

Ward was set to return to the property before Chancellor Rishi Sunak, the MP for the area, stepped in and a court order prohibited Ward's return

Eventually, faced with their evidence, the police officers who had ignored her had no option but to act and raided Ward's home.

As the eccentric military expert - who ran what he termed a museum from his home - was arrested a huge cache of bombs and live weaponry was discovered. 

RAF bomb squad officers were brought in to carry out controlled explosions on the moorland above their isolated homes.

Ward was arrested and jailed at Teesside Crown Court after admitting 11 counts of exposure, three charges of possessing a prohibited firearm and seven other firearms offences. 

At the time Mandy Dunford said: 'After Brian's death Kenneth's behaviour became more and more erratic. He first started exposing himself to me around 2002 and would peer in through my windows with his wild staring eyes.

'He'd run around the house at night shouting and tapping on the windows. When I was working during the day he'd come right up to me and follow me around wearing nothing but boots and socks.

'He had a favourite stone on the lane next to my house where he used to stand to watch me with his pants down and shirt pulled up. He'd stand there for hours and hours every day, terrorising me. I became the only focus of his life.

'I went to the police to report him but their response was hopeless.'

She went four times to Stokesley police station but it only resulted in warnings for Ward, which, she claims, only made his behaviour worse.

Five North Yorkshire police officers who failed to respond effectively to her original reports were criticised in an internal disciplinary enquiry which concluded they failed to meet 'appropriate investigatory standards.'

The report said: 'It must serve as a reminder to North Yorkshire Police to periodically review how officers carry out their investigations and how North Yorkshire Police expects managers to supervise their staff.'