Cell fire 'a cry for help' before prisoner's death

Ricky Crosher was found dead in October 2023

A man set fire to his cell as "a cry for help" days before he was found dead in prison, an inquest has heard.

Ricky Crosher, 40, was serving a sentence at HMP Lowdham Grange in Nottinghamshire when he was found by prison staff on 11 October 2023.

A jury at Nottingham Coroner's Court on Tuesday heard he was the fourth person found hanging in their cell that year, when the jail was run by Sodexo.

Sue Beck, his mother, told the court her son and the family had repeatedly tried to raise concerns about conditions in the Category B jail before his death.

The court heard Crosher was born in Basildon and grew up as part of a close family unit in Essex.

Ms Beck said her son had been diagnosed with dyspraxia aged four and struggled with school, but excelled at sports, including football and judo.

She said he was badly affected by the death of his grandfather when he was 11, and after he left the family home aged 16 she said they learned following his first arrest he had developed a heroin habit.

A cycle of imprisonment, rehabilitation, relapsing and reoffending followed as he struggled with drugs through much of his adult life, she said, but by December 2022 he was released on licence and seemed to be improving.

"He was in great spirits, and happy that we were all together for Christmas," she said.

"None of us would have known it would be our last Christmas with him."

The jury heard Crosher had been transferred to HMP Lowdham Grange in July 2023

After getting a new probation worker in January 2023, Crosher was moved to a flat in Luton, where his mother said his neighbours were drug dealers.

He was arrested on 2 March and recalled to prison, and after initially serving his sentence at HMP Thameside, he was moved to Lowdham Grange in July.

Ms Beck said after a couple of days her son was concerned about the conditions in the Nottinghamshire site, especially violence on the wings.

"It was clear to me he was struggling and didn't feel safe in that prison," she told the court.

"Ricky described a prison that sounded out of control."

In August Crosher told his parents he had been attacked by another inmate, with concerns escalating over the coming weeks.

By October Ms Beck told the jury she was worried he was "spiralling into a bad state".

"He had been in other prisons, but this was by far the worst," she said.

Crosher had self-harmed on 7 October, and told his parents he subsequently set fire to his cell in a bid to move to a segregation unit.

After setting fire to his cell, he was moved to a different unit on the same wing, which his mother said did not alleviate concerns for his safety.

Ms Beck said she last spoke to him on 10 October when he had asked for money, and twice tried to call the prison but the phone was not answered.

She was contacted by family liaison officers the following day, who told her he had been found dead on the morning of 11 October.

A jury was sworn in at Nottingham Coroner's Court on Tuesday

The court heard Crosher had repeatedly tried to contact Lowdham Grange's safer custody team, but was never seen by a member of staff from that unit.

At the time of his death he was also being monitored under a process called assessment, care in custody and teamwork (ACCT), which is used in jails to help people at risk of self-harm or suicide.

Ms Beck said she was shocked to hear about efforts her son had made to get support, and said the family felt they had been ignored.

She said Sodexo - which ran Lowdham Grange until the Ministry of Justice took over in December 2023 - "completely failed their basic duties to keep people safe", and pointed to other deaths at the prison as signs of systemic failures.

"How many deaths will it take for Lowdham Grange to change?" she asked.

Addressing the jury, area coroner Laurinda Bower said Crosher was the fourth person in 2023 to be found hanging in their cells, and said previous investigations had highlighted "systemic concerns about the way in which the prison was being managed".

She said drugs had been found in his system, and an autopsy noted he had "a number of recent injuries".

The inquest continues.