BURNLEY MP Peter Pike is to demand a meeting with the Home Secretary David Blunkett about why a 14-year-old Burnley boy became the youngest person in the country to die while in custody.

The search for answers comes after Adam Rickwood, of Harold Street, was found hanging in his room at the Hassockfield Centre, in Consett, County Durham, at around midnight on Monday.

Centre bosses today confirmed that Adam had not been placed under high-risk assessment - or suicide watch - in the days leading up to his death, but was being monitored under the standard 15-minute checks placed on all inmates. The youngster was discovered during one of these routine checks.

Adam's mother Carol Pounder said her son was supposed to be a high risk inmate after having threatened to kill himself weeks earlier. She was in Durham yesterday meeting the coroner.

Burnley MP Peter Pike said: "I will be raising this tragedy with the Home Secretary as a matter of urgency and will be asking for a full report. It is a great tragedy and my sympathy goes to the family."

Campaign groups have now joined Adam's family in calling for public inquiry into this weeks tragic events at the privately-run secure accommodation.

Inquest, a national pressure group which investigates custody deaths, has now pledged to help Adam's family understand the circumstances surrounding his death.

Deborah Coles, Inquest's co-director, said: "Research shows that Adam is the youngest ever person to die in custody in Britain - that alone is shocking.

"The death of a 14-year-old child while in care of the state is deeply disturbing and highlights the dangerous consequences of locking up children.

"The Home Secretary David Blunkett can no longer resist the call for a public inquiry into the treatment of children by the criminal justice system. He must take serious action to address what is a serious and disturbing human rights issue - the death and suffering of children while in custody."

Adam had been sent to the secure training unit by the courts after allegedly breaching bail while accused of a wounding offence. It is believed most of the alleged incidents occurred in Lancashire.

Staff at the centre tried to revive the teenager, who had emotional and behavioural problems and who last attended Windsmoor House School, in Spring Lane, Blackburn.

Calls for a public inquiry into the death were also backed by the Howard League for Penal Reform, a pressure group that campaigns for better prison conditions for youngsters.

The league's director Frances Crook said today: "This highlights the large number of children that are in custody because of a breach on an asbo. It's akin to being in prison for misbehaving. It's also unacceptable for a 14-year-old to be sent so far away from home in Burnley."

Berkshire-based Premier Custodial Group, which runs the facility on behalf of the Youth Justice Board, has now launched an internal inquiry.

David Hill, manager of corporate communications, said: "All trainees are on a routine 15 minute watch, while those under a high risk assessment are monitored on a two, five or 10 minute basis. This individual was monitored every 15 minutes. I cannot confirm whether this individual made threats against his own life."

A Home Office spokesman said: "The Youth Justice Board has conducted a serious incident review in conjunction with the commission for social care inspectorate and the prisons and probation ombudsman.

"The police are also investigating and the local authority is likely to conduct its own inquiry.

"We are satisfied the mechanics are in place to ensure all aspects of this tragic incident are fully and properly investigated."