A report by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) has found a probation hostel could not be held responsible for a Blackburn ex-convict's death by suicide.

The account was prepared following the death of Barry Lightbown, who took his own life while on licence following domestic violence and harassment towards his ex-partners.

PPO investigations look into all deaths in prisons, the circumstances surrounding them, and what lessons should be learned in each case.

Lightbown, of no fixed address, was jailed in 2021 after he tried to make contact with his ex-partner who lived in Blackburn.

The ombudsman found Lightbown showed no indication of suicidal tendencies or any history of self-harm before his death and that Bowlers Green in Carlisle, the hostel where he was residing after release, managed his situation effectively.

The report said: “During Mr Lightbown’s induction, staff completed a wellbeing assessment to assess his risk of suicide and self-harm.

“A residential worker completed a well-being assessment and noted Mr Lightbown denied any thoughts of suicide and self-harm and said he felt optimistic for the future.

"He was assessed as a low risk of suicide and self-harm.”

After this, his community offender manager (COM) created a trigger plan to set out the action if Lightbown failed to comply with the conditions of his licence, as it was considered there was a significant risk he would try to contact his ex-partner.

On April 29, he received a formal warning for breaching the conditions of his licence by deleting his internet search history and attempting to contact his ex-partner’s daughter.

During a meeting, Mr Lightbown said that he had made a mistake and did not express any other concerns.

The conditions of his licence were amended on May 5 which included that he must not delete his text messages, telephone history, email history and messages from social media.

On May 10 he left Bowling Green and his behaviour was considered to be normal.

At midday, Mr Lightbown failed to return to Bowling Green and the staff tried to contact him but were unsuccessful.

The manager of Bowling Green contacted the COM and told him Lightbown had not returned, that his licence was revoked, and that he was recalled to prison.

His son contacted the COM and said Lightbown had called him and he sounded drunk but made no threats of suicide or self-harm.

At 4.45pm Mr Lightbown messaged his ex-partner with a picture of himself with the message, ‘guess what’s coming’.

Police were then made aware he was at high risk of suicide and self-harm before finding he had taken some of his belongings with him.

At 5.18pm, the police found Lightbown hanged in a wooded area near Blackburn.

An IOPC investigation following his death found his ex-partner contacted police at 1.32pm to report he had breached a restraining order and had called her to say goodbye.

She also alerted police he sent her text messages indicating he was going to harm himself, but the investigation found police did not record the call as a concern for Lightbown’s welfare.

The investigations noted that the FIB at Cumbria and Lancashire Police did not read the COM’s email until 9am on May 11 as inboxes were not constantly monitored.

The report added: “The IOPC investigation concluded there was no evidence to suggest the police may have caused Mr Lightbown’s death.

“The investigation was unable to say exactly what time Mr Lightbown died and whether the outcome would have been different had a missing person investigation been commenced when initial concerns were raised.”

Following his death, the ombudsman now requires Bowling Green to complete a support and safety plan to assess and manage residents who are at risk of suicide and self-harm.

The report said: “Mr Lightbown had some risk factors that indicated he was at risk of suicide and self-harm, including a history of violence against his ex-partner, relationship instability and lack of family support.

“However, we have not seen any evidence that staff should have considered Mr Lightbown’s risk of suicide and self-harm to be raised during his time at Bowling Green.

“We are satisfied staff considered Mr Lightbown’s risk of suicide and self-harm and there was no reason for them to think that he might harm himself when he left May 10.

“We are also satisfied that they took appropriate action when he failed to return to Bowling Green.”