A CARE home boss was this afternoon found guilty of safety failings which led to the death of an elderly resident.

Matt Matharu was convicted of two charges brought by Hartlepool Borough Council under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

He will be sentenced at Teesside Crown Court after a probation officer has interviewed him to compile a background report.

Judge Michael Taylor told the 50-year-old that prison - a maximum of two years on each count - would be considered.

Norah Elliott, 90, died after getting out of a first-floor window and plunging to the ground from the roof of a conservatory.

The tragedy at Parkview in Seaton Carew prompted a police and council probe which led to the arrest of Matharu, of Elwick Road, Hartlepool.

He claimed Mrs Elliott or her husband, Bob, who shared the room, must have removed window restraints - a chain and a screw.

The prosecution said there was never a restrictor on the window, and Matharu had failed in his duty to keep residents safe.

The jury of ten women and two men took just 40 minutes to find him guilty of two breaches of the 1974 Act after an eight-day trial.

Judge Taylor told him: "These convictions are for a serious offence . . . I have got to tell you all sentencing options are open."