The officers will face charges that they failed to protect Tania Moore after she was assaulted and robbed in June 2003. Moore had made several complaints to the police after the incident, claiming that her former fiance, Mark Dyche, had threatened to kill her.

The 26-year-old, who lived in Sudbury, Derbyshire, was shot dead in March 2004 after Dyche rammed her car off the road before shooting her in the face at point blank range.

The UK's Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) launched an investigation into the police handling of Moore's complaints just weeks after Dyche was sentenced to life imprisonment in May of last year.

An IPCC spokeswoman this weekend confirmed that eight Derbyshire officers will face misconduct charges in October as a result of that investigation. The officers have not been suspended from their duties in advance of the misconduct hearing.

Tania Moore's father has welcomed the news, saying it would help to answer questions surrounding his daughter's final months, and about the police investigation into threats made against her.

Speaking to the Sunday Tribune from his home in Dublin, Pat Moore said questions remained as to how Mark Dyche was able to mount a sustained campaign of intimidation against Tania.

"It is very hard to accept that something could have been done to save the life of my daughter, " he said. "Dyche continually harassed Tania. He paid people to beat her up and then he shot her dead. He planned her murder for months."

Tania Moore was the granddaughter of soccer legend Paddy Moore, who played for Ireland in the 1930s and is still regarded as one of the best soccer players ever produced by this country.

A talented showjumper, Tania Moore was subjected to a year-long campaign of intimidation before she was murdered in a laneway close to her home in March 2004. Nine months before her death, she was savagely beaten by four men who had been hired by Dyche to assault her and steal various items from her home.

Dyche repeatedly threatened Moore after the incident. He followed her at night and told her he would shoot her dead. Dyche also told several friends that he wanted his former fiancee killed and offered to pay them to carry out the killing.

On 29 March 2004, he rammed her vehicle off the road and shot her dead at point blank range as she lay injured in her car. In May 2005, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for her murder and was told that he must serve 30 years before being considered for parole.

The IPCC launched an investigation into the police handling of the case immediately after Dyche's sentencing. The investigation examined how Dyche was able to conduct his campaign of intimidation against his victim, and also how he was able to hold a gun licence despite a history of violence.

The murder of Tania Moore was the most recent tragedy to hit the Moore family. Tania's grandfather, Paddy Moore, was the most gifted sportsman of his generation but ultimately lost his life after battling with alcoholism.

Paddy Moore had become the first footballer in the world to score four goals during a single World Cup qualifying game when he scored all of Ireland's goals in the 4-4 draw against Belgium at Dalymount Park in 1934.

Moore made his name with Shamrock Rovers in the early 1930s, scoring the winning goal in three successive FAI Cup finals, before moving to Aberdeen in Scotland. He is widely regarded as Ireland's first soccer superstar, but his unprecedented sporting celebrity drove him to drink and he died in poverty at the age of just 41.

Pat Moore was just seven years old when his father died in 1951. Fifty-three years later, he was to bury his daughter.