Watchdog inquiry as man dies in police van near A&E

The man was taken to Royal Blackburn Hospital by police where his condition deteriorated

An inquiry has been launched after a detained man died in a police van after being taken to hospital.

Lancashire Police were called out before midnight on 11 July to a man in his 30s who had refused to leave a cinema, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said.

He was later detained under the Mental Health Act a few hours later at the Holmes Mill complex in Clitheroe before he was taken by police to Royal Blackburn Hospital.

His condition deteriorated and he was later put in the back of the police van which was parked in an ambulance bay outside the emergency department, but became unresponsive and later died.

The IOPC said he became unresponsive at 06:35 BST, when medical staff tried to resuscitate him for about an hour before a clinical decision was made to cease and he was declared dead.

The force made a mandatory referral to the IOPC, who is now appealing for a woman who spoke to the man at the Holmes Mill Complex and members of the public inside A&E to contact the watchdog.

Bodycam footage

A spokeswoman for Lancashire Police said "it would be inappropriate to comment any further at this stage other than to say our thoughts are with the loved ones of the man who sadly died and that we will, of course, continue to cooperate fully with the IOPC".

IOPC director Amanda Rowe said the watchdog had met the man's family , adding: "It's important that an independent investigation is carried out to fully establish the circumstances when someone has died in police custody."

The watchdog said they had obtained body-camera footage from officers involved "although further enquiries remain ongoing to identify all officers who attended and to ensure all relevant footage is secured".

They have also acquired evidence from the police van and the mental health room in the hospital.