DETECTIVES investigating the mystery death of a teenage Nelson girl have ruled out any link with a possible reaction to the contraceptive pill.

The news came as Catherine Kent's family revealed the 14-year-old had been taking the Pill since August for medical reasons.

The family were upset by some inaccurate reports yesterday that there was a link between Catherine taking the Pill and her death - and also that people were wrongly drawing the conclusion that she was taking the Pill because she was having sex.

A post mortem examination by Home Office pathologist William Lawlor has failed to establish the cause of her death.

Detectives are now awaiting the results of toxicology tests on samples taken from Catherine, who was found dead yesterday at her mother's house in Crawford Street, Nelson.

Police are not treating the death as suspicious.

Catherine's family confirmed the teenager started taking the Pill several weeks ago.

"She started taking it in August to regulate her periods," said her grandmother Catherine Smith.

"No-one knows what caused her death. She'd been suffering from really bad migraines for years and someone suggested she may have had a blood clot on her brain or something."

Detective Inspector Simon Leach, who is heading the investigation, said: "It is a very unfortunate incident. Samples will be sent for further examination but the death is not linked to any suspicious activity. "The cause of death is unknown and we are not investigating a possible link with her taking the contraceptive pill.

"There's no pathological reason for her death as a result of any injury or any suggestion she was involved with illicit drugs. Mr Lawlor, a leading pathologist, can find no explanation at all for it."

It is expected to take several days before the results of the toxicology tests are known.

East Lancashire coroner David Smith has been informed and an inquest is expected to take place shortly.

Catherine, who did not use her real name, Latoya Catherine Campbell Mitchell, was due to start school at Primet High, Colne, yesterday after switching from Walton High School, Nelson. Her grandmother, Catherine Smith, raised the alarm after failing to wake the teenager and then tried unsuccessfully to resuscitate her.

Catherine usually lived with her grandmother in Regent Street, Nelson. The pair had slept at Catherine's mum's house after helping other members of the family prepare for a holiday.

The teenager was a member of a youth group at the Central Gospel Mission church, Nelson, and a local Air Training Corps squad.

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