THE GRIEVING parents of Burnley youngster Adam Rickwood today called for the detention centre where he died to be shut down.

Carol and John Pounder said other children like Adam, 14, were at risk following his suspected suicide.

And they again demanded to know why their son had not been on suicide watch after he had threatened to kill himself.

Adam, of Harold Street, became the youngest person in the country to die while in custody after he was found hanging in his room at the

Hassockfield Centre in Consett, County Durham, at around midnight on Monday.

He had been sent to the privately-run secure training unit by the courts after allegedly breaching bail while accused of a wounding offence. There are no suspicious circumstances.

Groups, including Inquest, a national pressure group which investigates custody deaths, and the Howard League for Penal Reform, have backed the family's call for a public inquiry. A solicitor from Inquest was due to visit the Pounders today.

Carol and John, of Harold Street, Burnley, today claimed the wounding charge against Adam was in the process of being dropped after his alleged victim withdrew his complaint.

And they said he had been hopeful of returning home following a bail hearing set for the day after he died.

Carol said: "I spoke to Adam on Sunday and he was confident he would be coming home while the process of dropping the charges was completed.

"I just can't explain how it is that the next thing we know is he is dead, but some of the staff in there harassed him.

"I would like to see the place closed down because other youngsters are at risk in there.

"Three weeks before he died, on July 20, we were at a meeting with Adam's key worker and we told her he had threatened to commit suicide.

"She agreed that he should have been on constant supervision and yet that wasn't the case. Why not?

"I will make sure there is a public inquiry so we can get some answers and find out exactly what happened to our son."

Dad John added: "The centre should be shut because they are not fit to look after a dog. Nothing about Adam's death makes any sense, it just doesn't add up.

"He may have threatened to harm himself, but I know he never would have taken his own life. He had so much to live for.

"He told me that when he came out he was never going to get himself in trouble again. With that light at the end of the tunnel why would he kill himself?"

A spokesman for the Youth Justice Board, which allocates places to secure accommodation, said: "The standard procedure is that everyone is put under a 15 minute check.

"The decision to put anyone under a high risk assessment is taken on a day-by-day basis. The issue of bullying has so far not come up in our investigations."

An inquest was to be opened today into the death.

Police in County Durham have said there was nothing suspicious about his death.

There will be no family members present at the opening hearing, due to be held at County Hall, Durham.