Our findings paint a very different picture from the one we expected to find

DCI Gary Beautridge

The BBC programme, screened last year, sparked an immediate investigation by police and social services and within 24 hours of its transmission the home was shut down.

The police report is critical of the BBC's editing of secretly-filmed footage, and concludes the documentary misrepresented the home and the behaviour of some of its staff, the Sunday Telegraph reports.

Detective Chief Inspector Gary Beautridge, of Kent Police, said: "There is no doubt that when an allegation of the kind made by the MacIntyre report (is made) we should ensure that there is a full investigation and there was.

"We put the same kind of resources into this as we would into an investigation of murder or rape.

'Misrepresented'

"It took several of my detectives a number of weeks to carry out this investigation and our findings paint a very different picture from the one we expected to find."

No-one has been prosecuted as a result of the inquiry.

Of over 41 hours of footage from the home, just over 1% was used in the final programme, said the Sunday Telegraph.

Police told the paper that despite a comment in the programme that "restraint methods are used that can kill" no improper restraint methods were found in the footage.

The programme also said that no stimulating activites were organised for residents. It showed a four-hour drive, but not a trip to a bowling alley, the report said. The home's records were said to reveal that horse-riding, skiing and trampolining trips had also been organised.

A BBC spokeswoman said it stood by the episode.

"We were not setting out to achieve any prosecutions. We went to uncover a culture of neglect and abuse and show that there is a matter for social concern," she said.

Donal MacIntyre used hidden microphones and cameras to get evidence

"The police looked into it for common assault - we didn't ask them to do that, they came to us and we gave them the footage.

"The BBC has nothing to hide. That's why we supplied all the footage to the police, the social services, and the home itself.

"The 45-minute programme was distilled from 41 hours of tape recorded over a nine-month investigation. We are sure we can defend every edit."

MacIntyre Undercover has been hailed by BBC chiefs as extending the frontiers of investigative journalism. It was singled out for praise in the corporation's recent annual report.

Other programmes in the series focused on the exploitation of young models in the British fashion trade and football hooliganism.

Mr Macintyre quit the BBC last year. He said his work was becoming increasingly dangerous and he wanted to return to everyday life.