THE MOTHER of a psychiatric patient who was found dead in a Darlington bedsit has criticised the care he received.

David Lowery, 40, was found dead in bed in Greenbank Road, Darlington on Tuesday morning.

Mr Lowery, who had a history of mental illness, had been trying to live on his own after being discharged from the Pierremont psychiatric unit in Darlington a month ago.

His mother, Pamela Lowery, from Cockerton, Darlington, said: "He should have been in hospital where they could have cared for him.

"If they had kept him in he would never have died."

Mrs Lowery, who had pleaded with hospital bosses to keep her son locked up for his own good, is planning to see a solicitor about possible legal action.

She claims this is the third time that her son has been discharged from the Pierremont Unit, in the grounds of Darlington Memorial Hospital, with nowhere to live.

Last December, he was arrested trying to get back into the Pierremont Unit, after he was discharged on Christmas Day, with no accommodation to go to.

"It is terrible the way they left that lad to roam about with nowhere to live.

"Something should have been done," said Mrs Lowery.

Mr Lowery, 40, had been in and out of mental hospitals for years before he died.

Psychiatrists disagreed about whether he was suffering from mental illness or a personality disorder.

Before his death, Mrs Lowery wrote to Health Secretary Alan Milburn and County Durham and Darlington Priority Services NHS Trust, complaining about her son's treatment.

Harry Cronin, spokesman for the County Durham and Darlington Priority Services NHS Trust, said: "It is with great sadness that we learn of the death of David Lowery. We would extend our condolences to his family and friends.

"Although he was known to us we cannot make any further comment under the circumstances," said Mr Cronin