Prolific Burnley paedophile Colin Haworth dies in prison

Colin Haworth's death came just months after he complained about coughing up pieces of metal mesh following lung surgery. 

Haworth, 74, carried out his lewd acts in several different locations across the UK, including Drummore in Scotland, Llandudno in Wales, and also in his home town of Burnley.

In 2019, Burnley Crown Court heard how Haworth, who was serving a seven-year sentence in Stafford Prison for similar sex offences committed in 2000, 2001 and 2011, against two further victims, committed the crimes over a 35 year period between 1977 and 2014.

READ MORE: Prolific Burnley paedophile who abused eight children sentenced to 23 years

A report from the Prison and Probations Ombudsman dated December 8, said Haworth died in hospital of pneumonia on January 10, while still a prisoner at HMP Stafford.

In August 2016, Haworth was sentenced to seven years for sexual offences. He was later convicted of further sexual offences and sentenced to 23 years.

On September 1 2017, Haworth, who had pre-existing medical conditions including high blood pressure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD, a lung condition that causes breathing difficulties), was moved to HMP Stafford.

In September 2018, Haworth had surgery to remove large areas of damaged tissue in his right lung and in February 2019, his left lung collapsed.

He was taken to hospital, given treatment, and recovered back at Stafford.

Colin Haworth (Image: Lancs Police)

Eighteen months later in July 2022, Haworth told a prison GP that he was coughing up small pieces of metal mesh, which he thought might be related to his previous lung surgery.

The report stated: “The GP referred Mr Haworth to the hospital lung team for advice. The hospital lung team said that Mr Haworth needed a CT scan.

“The subsequent CT scan showed that the metal could be staples from his previous lung surgery.”

On January 4, Haworth was taken to hospital as he was having difficulty breathing and was confused, with a hospital doctor diagnosing him with influenza.

The next day, the hospital discharged Haworth, and he returned to Stafford with a supply of medication.

The December 8 report went on: “Prison healthcare staff monitored him regularly. Later that day, a prison nurse calculated Mr Haworth’s NEWS2 score.

“The score indicated that Mr Haworth needed an urgent review by a hospital doctor, so she called a code blue.

“Paramedics attended the prison and told Mr Haworth that he needed to go to hospital.

“Mr Haworth said he did not want to go, and so he remained in his prison cell under the close supervision of the healthcare team.

“On January 8, Mr Haworth told a nurse that he felt lethargic but better than the day before.

“The nurse took his observations but did not calculate a NEWS2 score.”

The National Early Warning Score (NEWS2) is a tool used to assess clinical deterioration with the score calculated determining whether escalation of care is needed.

On January 9, a prison nurse saw Haworth and noticed he was coughing and was short of breath.

She calculated a NEWS2 score which showed that an urgent assessment by a doctor was needed.

An ambulance was requested and Haworth was taken to hospital for further tests.

The next morning, while in hospital, Haworth collapsed in the toilet.

Medical staff gave chest him compressions and were able to stabilise him, however they said that he was not expected to recover.

At 3.37pm, Haworth died and a hospital doctor gave his cause of death as pneumonia and listed COPD as a contributing factor.

Following his death, the clinical reviewer found the care Haworth received at Stafford was equivalent to that which he could have expected to receive in the community.

The report stated: “However, she found that on January 8, the day before Mr Haworth was taken to hospital, a nurse did not properly assess Mr Haworth for clinical deterioration.

"Had she done so, it is possible that Mr Haworth might have been sent to hospital sooner.”

A recommendation was made that the head of healthcare should ensure that all clinical staff are competent in the use of the NEWS2 assessment tool to identify and respond to potential acute illness.

The report went on: “We found that when the nurse called a code blue on January 9, she did not provide relevant information about Mr Haworth’s condition to the control room.

“Control room staff were then unable to provide relevant information to the ambulance service for use in the triage process.

“Although the lack of information did not affect Mr Haworth’s care, we are concerned that if the control room cannot answer this question in the future, it could result in the wrong category of ambulance being sent to somebody in a more serious, life-threatening condition.”

At the inquest held on November 30, the coroner concluded that Haworth died from natural causes.

Haworth was the 22nd prisoner to die at Stafford since January 2020. Of the previous deaths, one was self-inflicted, and the rest were from natural causes.