THE youngest person to die in custody in recent times might have taken his own life because he was physically restrained and painfully struck on the nose in the hours before he hanged himself, a psychiatrist told an inquest today.

Adam Rickwood, of Burnley, Lancashire, was just 14 when he was found hanging at Hassockfield Secure Training Centre, near Medomsley, County Durham, in 2004.

Consultant forensic psychiatrist Dr Hilary Grant, giving evidence at the inquest in Easington, was asked to comment on whether six specific factors more than minimally contributed to him choosing to take his life.

The jury has been told Adam was an extremely troubled and vulnerable young man with a history of cannabis abuse when he was sent 150 miles from his home town on remand after he was charged with wounding another youth.

On the day he died, Adam had rowed with a female member of staff in the association area and was lifted by four care officers and placed face down in his room.

On the way, care officer Steve Hodgson had used the controversial Nose Distraction Technique - a sharp painful blow - to stop the boy from trying to bite him, the inquest heard. Adam's nose bled afterwards and he was left alone in his room to calm down.

The trainee spoke to members of staff and he did not seem too despondent afterwards, but six hours later he was found dead in his room.

Dr Grant was asked to consider whether a range of factors potentially contributed to him choosing to take his own life and she said Adam had written a note after being restrained which revealed his feelings.

"He seemed to be disturbed by it," she told the inquest.

"He felt it was disproportionate.

"I would conclude it was a more than minimally contributing factor."

She felt the use of nose distraction fell into the same category.

Dr Grant agreed that other factors which may have contributed to him making the desperate decision were his vulnerability; being held 150 miles from home; recent loss of privileges at the centre; and finding out a bail hearing was not going ahead the next day.

Assistant deputy coroner Jeremy Freedman began summing up the evidence for the jury who will be asked to consider 16 questions.

He told the panel that nine would relate to events in the run-up to Adam's death, three about staff training, two about the involvement of the Youth Justice Board, one about the Hassockfield regime and finally to consider the factors that might have contributed more than minimally to his death.

The coroner added: "This has been a wide-ranging and extensive inquiry and rightly so because there are very important issued to be ventilated in the public arena."