Jury Out Over Britain’s Youngest Custody Death

An inquest jury considering the death of a teenage boy found hanged in a privately-run secure unit has been sent home after a day of deliberations. Adam Rickwood, 14, became the youngest person to die in custody in Britain when he was found in August 2004.

Adam, from Burnley, Lancashire, was on remand at the Hassockfield Secure Training Unit, County Durham. The inquest began at Chester-le-Street Magistrates’ Court on 1 May. The jury will return on Tuesday. The members – nine women and one man – have been given a list of 11 questions they need to answer.

The inquest has heard that Adam had written to his mother saying he would kill himself if he was not taken out of the unit. He was found dead about one month after being sent on remand to the unit, which was more than 150 miles away from his home, in July 2004.

Adam suffered from mental health problems, drink and drug abuse and had suicidal tendencies, Chester-le-Street Magistrates’ Court heard. The jury was told that hours before his death he had been restrained by staff using a “nose distraction technique” in which upward pressure is placed on the nose to cause a short pain.

Professionals involved in his care told the inquest the centre was “an appropriate place” for the teenager. But the Inquest group, which represented his family, told the jury that the centre was run like a prison.

The Prison and Probation Service Ombudsman described the centre as “austere and prison-like with movement impeded by an oppressive number of locked doors”.