Custody review call after cell death

Mr Stephens took a fatal overdose in the police cell

A coroner has called on North Wales Police to change their procedures after a man died from a fatal dose of painkillers in a cell at Wrexham police station.

A 12-hour long inquest at Flint on Tuesday was told 59-year-old Michael Stephens had killed himself because he could not bear the thought of going back to prison.

A verdict of suicide citing neglect as a contributing factor was returned by the inquest jury.

Mr Stephens was found dead in his cell at the police station in June last year after being arrested for breaching his bail conditions.

Heart attack

The inquest, which continued late into Tuesday evening, was told how Mr Stephens - who lived in a caravan in the car park of a pub at Rossett park - had been arrested following allegations he assaulted his girlfriend.

The jury was told he could not bear the prospect of returning to prison and was able to smuggle the pills into the cell with him.

He was found dead from a heart attack after taking more than 20 high-dose painkiller.

He had been prescribed the drugs for chronic back problems following an accident in 1967 when he was a wagon driver.

Home Office pathologist Dr Bryan Rogers said Mr Stephens had suffered from severe hardening of the arteries.

He said the large amount of painkillers which Mr Stephens had taken were a contributory cause to his death, he said.

Medical history

The fact that Mr Stephens was able to smuggle the painkillers into the police cell had prompted serious questions about the booking in procedure at Wrexham, the inquest heard.

Concerns were also raise about the fact that information about Mr Stephens' mental state, and the fact that he had taken two painkillers before his arrest, had not been disclosed to the custody officer at Wrexham police station.

The North East Wales Coroner, John Hughes, has written to the Chief Constable of North Wales Police, Richard Brunstrom, voicing his concerns about the way medical history forms for prisoners are filled in.

Tighter guidelines are being urged to clarify the roles of custody officers and civilian officers.

The coroner also suggested a review of the prisoners' escort record.

A separate inquiry into Mr Stephens' death was carried out by the Police Complaints Authority.