THE grandmother of a Burnley teenager found hanging in a detention centre said his "slow decline" started after the deaths of three of his grandparents in just 18 months.

Margaret Rickwood, 63, said her grandson Adam, who has become the youngest person to die while in custody, was unable to cope with the loss of her husband David and his paternal grandparents Lilly and Richard Pounder.

She said: "He was very close to all his grandparents. He would be at my house every day to see if there was anything I needed."

Margaret, of Kinross Street, in Burnley, lost her husband more than five years ago.

"Adam was really close to my David - he was his soul mate," she said. "David was very poorly for a while and was more or less bed-ridden.

"Adam would come round and they'd watch the television and have a good old time."

Margaret said she and her family are adamant it was the lost of David, Richard and Lilly, in a space of just 18 months that triggered her grandson's behavioural problems. But she said they have found it hard convincing people it could have hit him so hard.

Richard, who lived with Lilly in Airdrie Crescent, Burnley, died first, about six years ago. Within 18 months his wife Lilly and Adam's other grandfather David, had died.

She added: "People feel things and deal with things differently.

"He became moody and angry. It really got him down."

She said he would visit their graves in Burnley Cemetery regularly.

"He would go there and talk to them and leave little toys like cars or soldiers," she added.

"We tried to talk to him about what he was going through and he had professional help, but he would just close up."

Margaret said the last time she saw Adam was on a visit to the Hassockfield Centre, in Medomsley near Consett, the week before he was found hanging in his room.

"He wasn't his usual self. He was quiet and was biting his nails.

"I tried to get him to talk about how he was, what he had been doing, but he wasn't answering. Then he cut the visit short saying he had to go to the gym.

"I knew something was wrong, but I could never have imagined what was going to happen."

Margaret is now trying to stay strong to support her family through the tragedy of losing Adam, 14.

She said: "We are all so hurt and angry. I am trying to hold it together for the sake of his mum and his sisters.

"I do my crying at night. Sometimes it is impossible not to cry, it just comes out.

"With the help of Inquest we are fighting to find out what happened to Adam and hopefully we can prevent anything like this happening again.

"I would not want any other family to go through what we are going through - it is horrible."