THE mother of a teenage boy who hanged himself in a secure unit has gone to London’s High Court to ask for a second inquest to be opened into his death.

Adam Rickwood, from Burnley, was the youngest person to die in custody in the modern era when he hanged himself with his shoelaces at the Hassockfield Secure Training Centre, in Consett, County Durham, in 2004, the court heard.

Following a month-long inquest in Chester-le-Street last May, a jury of nine women and one man found that Adam had deliberately taken his own life.

But his mother, Carol Pounder, of Greenock Close, Burnley, said the verdict raised "more questions than answers" and is now asking High Court judge, Mr Justice Blake, to order a fresh inquest into her son's death.

Richard Hermer, on behalf of Mrs Pounder, said Adam’s death came just hours after he was forcibly restrained by four adult guards and was subjected to the "nose distraction technique", in which pressure is applied to the nose with the deliberate intention of causing pain.

Mr Hermer went on to claim that Adam died due to "systemic failures" and the use of an "unlawful" restraint technique designed to inflict pain.

Through Mr Hermer, Ms Pounder said that the Coroner was wrong to "preclude the inquest jury from considering the issue of the legality of the physical restraint" used on Adam six hours before he died in his blood-smeered cell at the 40-bed secure unit.

Opening the case yesterday (thur), Mr Hermer said Adam was "a deeply troubled and deeply vulnerable child" who, despite his youth, had a history of drug abuse, self-harming and suicide attempts.

On remand when he died, Adam had been placed at Hassockfield - a private institution run by Serco Home Affairs Ltd under a contract with the Ministry of Justice - although it was more than 100 miles and three hours drive from his Lancashire home.

Adam had been there just under a month when, on the afternoon of August 8 2004, he was ordered to his cell by a staff member after he handed in an "offensive note" written by another inmate.

Attacking the coroner's refusal to allow the jury to consider the lawfulness of the restraint methods used on Adam, Mr Hermer said it was recognised at the inquest that it was a "potential contributory factor" to his death.

The hearing of Mrs Pounder's challenge is expected to last two days. Serco Home Affairs Ltd and the Youth Justice Board, which "supervises" the company's Government contract, are also represented at the court hearing.