A SOCIAL services boss has described provisions for the disabled as a "Cinderella service" following the publication of a report on the deaths of an autistic boy and his mother.

Helen Rogan, 38, plunged 180ft from Hownsgill Viaduct, near Consett, County Durham, clutching her 11-year-old son, Mark, in September 2001.

An inquest into the tragedy heard that the single mother, who was an occupational therapist, was struggling to cope with her son's increasing demands, and feared he may be taken from her.

Prior to jumping from the viaduct with him, she plied herself and Mark with prescribed tablets and slashed both their wrists.

An independent investigation into how the incident happened concluded on Friday that all the agencies concerned with the family's care were blameless.

It recommended that a multi-agency team be set up to cater for disabled people, such as Mark, in the future.

The concluding report also highlighted serious flaws in the current system, with several agencies covering the same ground and some professionals not fully understanding autism.

Debbie Jones, head of children and family services at Durham County Council, admitted that the case had highlighted that provisions for disabled people were inadequate.

"I do accept that the support given was not of the high standard that we would want," she said. "Inevitably, services for disabled people, including services for children with autism spectrum disorders, became a Cinderella service."

Ms Jones said the agencies were already working towards establishing a joint team, drawing on their own and families' expertise to better serve the disabled.

Helen Geldart, of the County Durham Autistic Group, who has an autistic son and was friends with Ms Rogan, welcomed this.

But she said: "For my money, this needs to be a starting point. We need to prevent something like this ever happening again."