Schoolboy cell death inquiry

An investigation is under way after a teenage schoolboy was found dead in a police cell on Christmas night.

David Parsons, 16, was taken into custody for questioning and left alone in the cell.

Minutes later police found him hanging at the station at Cockett, Swansea, south Wales.

South Wales Police said his death would be investigated by the Police Complaints Authority.

But Inquest, a pressure group that helps families of people who die in custody, has expressed deep concern about the case.

An Inquest spokeswoman, Deborah Coles, said she was "deeply disturbed" that the teenager was left unsupervised.

"It is in both the family's and the public interest given the seriousness of this tragedy that there is a full, open and public inquiry into this death and not an investigation that relies on the police investigating the police," she said.

The teenager, a keen football fan from Penlan, Swansea, was arrested on the afternoon of Christmas Day.

Police are refusing to say why he was questioned, but it is understood it may have been related to a house break-in.

His parents June and Tony Parsons are said to be "devastated" by his death.

A family spokesman said: "We are still in a state of shock. It's an awful tragedy to happen on Christmas Day. We are waiting to find out the full facts before we saying anything more."

A Home Office pathologist has carried out a post-mortem. The Swansea Coroner, Richard Morgan, is also investigating.