A SCHIZOPHRENIC man who walked unchecked out of the psychiatric unit of a North-East hospital was found dead at the bottom of some of the highest cliffs in Britain 20 days after he went missing.

The body of John Pedelty, 57, of Eldon Lane, Bishop Auckland, was discovered by a bird-watcher at the foot of Huntcliff, Saltburn, after a three week search that involved friends from as far away as Poland and Canada.

A pathologist said his injuries were consistent with a fall.

An inquest into his death heard Mr Pedelty walked out of the Lambton ward at Darlington Memorial Hospital on Monday, November 10, last year, without informing staff.

The retired local authority planning officer had suffered from mental health problems since 1977 and had spent numerous periods in Winterton Hospital, near Sedgefield, and Darlington's Pierremont Unit.

He had been detained under Section 4 of the Mental Health Act on October 9, 2003 after speaking about suicide at the drop-in centre he attended in Bishop Auckland.

Alan Jones, a clinical team leader at the Pierremont Unit, said Mr Pedelty's condition was improving but he would have been kept under observation while further assessments on his mental state were carried out.

He said during the assessment period Mr Pedelty was free to leave the ward when he pleased as long as he informed staff, and he often did come and go.

Andrew Tweddle, the solicitor representing Mr Pedelty's estate, asked consultant psychiatrist Dr Sanjay Agrawal if the hospital had reviewed its procedures since Mr Pedelty walked out of the ward.

Mr Tweddle said: "It does seem to an outsider somewhat strange that someone with mental illness can just walk out without some degree of control over them."

Dr Agrawal said, since Mr Pedelty's death, patients were still able to leave with or without supervision and he confirmed they were not secured in the ward regardless of their mental state.

The hearing was adjourned until a date to be fixed for further evidence.