INADEQUATE checks were made on a prisoner who was found with a ligature around his neck after taking notorious drug Spice, an inquest has heard.

Christopher Hope, of Crook, was found hanged in a cell at Stockton’s Holme House prison, having taken the dangerous psychoactive substance in July 2015.

Evidence given at his inquest suggested that there were potential missed opportunities to provide the 28-year-old with appropriate care after he began displaying symptoms of a Spice overdose.

A jury at Teesside Coroner’s Court also heard the water supply to Mr Hope’s cell was turned off after he flooded it, despite dehydration being a dangerous side-effect of the drug.

Prison medic Dr Hassan Omran said he treats prisoners for Spice overdoses - with some of them having been spiked - at least weekly in his role at Holme House.

He decided to send Mr Hope, who had been severely burned in a Darlington house fire in 2008, to the health care block after becoming concerned about his agitated state at around 2pm on July 3.

Observations were recommended, but records detail just three checks over the hours between his transfer to the medical wing at around 3pm and his death at almost 1am.

At 8pm, he was noted as having been quiet but at 10.50pm, he was said to be disruptive, having flooded his cell.

At around 1am, a ‘code blue’ emergency was called after Mr Hope was found on the floor of his cell with a ligament around his neck. He was declared dead shortly afterwards.

Senior coroner Clare Bailey asked Dr Omran if he would have expected observational records from staff to be more regular and more detailed with regard to medical checks.

He said: “It depends on the health of the patient and if they do not think they need frequent observations, it is for the health professionals to make that decision. Whether checks are made every half hour or every hour can change according to the clinical situation. Reading records retrospectively, it would have been better to have more observations. I’m not sure why they were not done.”

Dr Omran said the observations and assessments made had not been adequate and, when asked, claimed it was possible that opportunities had been missed to provide appropriate care for Mr Hope.

The medic also agreed that the disconnection of the water supply to Mr Hope’s cell could have proven a risk to his health, given that dehydration is a known side effect of Spice overdose. He said: “If it meant he did not have water to drink, he could have deteriorated further.”

The inquest continues.