A SENIOR detective who helped bring double murderer Christopher Halliwell to justice but saw his career end in the process has criticised police forces for "obsessing" about procedure rather than looking at the bigger picture.

Former detective superintendent Steve Fulcher oversaw the arrest of cabbie killer Halliwell during Wiltshire Police's investigation into missing Swindon woman Sian O'Callaghan.

With fears that the 22-year-old's life may hang in the balance, Mr Fulcher got his officers to bring his taxi driver suspect - who had been cautioned for suspected kidnap - to a hilltop site for an "urgent interview".

Halliwell then confessed to murdering Miss O'Callaghan and took police to where he had concealed her body near the Uffington White Horse beauty spot in Oxfordshire. He then offered Mr Fulcher "another one" and took him to the field at Eastleach in Gloucestershire where Becky Godden's remains were later recovered.

Both confessions were later ruled inadmissible by a High Court judge because Mr Fulcher breached rules for the interviewing of suspects.

Mr Fulcher was later found guilty of gross misconduct by a police disciplinary panel but kept his job after receiving a final written warning. He resigned from the force several months later.

The father-of-two has since won praise from Miss Godden's mother and the judge who handed Halliwell a whole life sentence - with both saying the 20-year-old's remains may never have been found if it was not for the detective's actions.

Mr Fulcher has now spoken about the investigation which saw his 27-year police career come to a shuddering halt.

He told the Daily Mail: "No one wants to go back to the old days where the police sometimes ran roughshod over the rules, but the pendulum has swung way too far in favour of the criminal.

"There is an obsession with procedure at the expense of the bigger picture. If I had followed procedure, then Sian and Becky's bodies may never have been found."

In the interview, the 49-year-old also described apprehending Halliwell, who was arrested before an apparent suicide attempt, as being a "terrible Catch 22".

He added: "I pleaded with him for Sian's life.....(he said nothing) then he said 'have you got a car, let's go''.

"It was horribly tense. All I could do was try to keep him talking."

A police watchdog later said, given the investigation had changed from kidnap to murder, Mr Fulcher should have cautioned Halliwell again.

However, the situation unexpectedly changed after officers were led to the remote spot where Ms O'Callaghan's body was found when her killer reportedly said "do you want another one?".

Mr Fulcher added: "He told me he had killed a girl in 2003, 4 or 5, and he could take me to that body - the exact spot."

Halliwell was then driven to a remote part of rural Gloucestershire, where Miss Godden's remains were eventually found.

That decision to head to the second crime scene - rather than issue a caution - saw Mr Fulcher reprimanded by a formal conduct hearing because police and criminal evidence act (Pace) rules had been broken.

He later quit the force - and has found it virtually impossible to find another job at a UK force.

However, the erstwhile senior detective was later described as a "hero" by Miss Godden's mother Karen Edwards.

Speaking outside Bristol Crown Court on Monday, she said: "I would like to thank, from the bottom of my heart, Steve Fulcher, for bringing my little girl home.

"I will always respect him and and be indebted him for making that moral decision as a police officer.

"But he should never have suffered the terrible consequences, loss reputation and loss of his career for doing such a thing."

And in his sentencing remarks, Judge Sir John Griffith Williams said: "There is every prospect that Rebecca Godden's remains would not have been found (were it not for Halliwell's confession)."

Mr Fulcher has been keen to stress he is not in favour of rules being bended all the time.

He added: "Pace is there for a reason. Quite rightly it gives protection to the innocent. But without common sense it gives too much protection to the guilty and not the victim.

"And if we're not protecting the victim then we're all sunk."

A Wiltshire Police spokesman acknowledged the case had been "a difficult, emotive and challenging" one for everyone involved.

He added: "We made a commitment to the families concerned and the public in 2011 that justice would be served and we have been unwavering in this quest.

"We acknowledge that for any senior investigating officer faced with a potential kidnap case the main objective would always be to locate the victim and safeguard them from harm which tragically could not happen in this case.

"Serious and major crime investigations are a complex aspect of policing. The investigation into Becky's murder was rigorously reviewed and any new lines of inquiry or evidence fully investigated."

The spokesman also said diligent and professional police work ensured that Halliwell had been brought to justice.

He added: "Halliwell will now no longer be a danger to the public following his whole life tariff sentence.

"Our thoughts are with the families who have shown great dignity and strength. We hope that all of the parties involved are now able to find some closure following his sentencing."