A group of MPs was calling for a North-East coroner to be sacked over an alleged backlog of inquests.

Latest figures show Teesside Coroner Michael Sheffield has yet to complete 209 inquests, and 47 of them have been outstanding for six months or more.

Last year the Lord Chancellor severely reprimanded the 75-year-old coroner following an investigation by a circuit judge into how he handled cases. Mr Sheffield's progress was to be monitored for 12 months.

Local MPs working for grieving families remained convinced Mr Sheffield should be fired.

Vera Baird, a Queen's Counsel barrister and Labour MP for Redcar, wrote to the Lord Chancellor claiming the coroner's working practises had not changed.

She wrote: ''The situation continues to be that the people of Teesside are getting abysmal service from this coroner.''

Fellow Labour MPs Frank Cook (Stockton North) and Dari Taylor (Stockton South) backed her calls for the coroner to be sacked.

Ms Baird told PA today: ''Being reprimanded has bounced off him and the situation is just as bad as it always was.''Now we have written a letter suggesting to the Lord Chancellor that he must look at the situation again, and the only possible outcome is for Mr Sheffield to be removed. ''It is a great pity that it has come to this.''

She said her motivation to get involved was receiving calls for help from constituents whose families were affected by the backlog.

She said: ''They were unable to get closure, unable to grieve properly for a loved-one because a year or more after a death, which was likely to have been sudden, they have no more information about what happened to them.''

The Lord Chancellor Lord Falconer remained aware of the continuing backlog of cases, a spokesman said.

''We are working closely with the coroner's office to continue these updates and the Lord Chancellor will, at a given point, give the matter further consideration,'' the spokesman said.

The spokesman said the number of cases outstanding for more than six months in 2002 was 170, had fallen to just 25 by December 2004, but risen to 47 by the end of June this year.

The spokesman said not all 209 outstanding inquests should be classed as part of any backlog, as cases take some time to prepare.

''He has speeded up but we will continue to monitor the situation,'' the spokesman said.

Mr Sheffield was on holiday this week.

His solicitor said Mr Sheffield had prepared a response to the MPs' criticism for release to the media, but its release had not yet been approved by the Department of Constitutional Affairs.