AN asylum seeker who fell to his death from a bridge weeks after being refused permission to stay in the country had been let down by the immigration system, it was claimed yesterday.

Solicitor Katherine Henderson spoke out after a coroner recorded an open verdict on the death of Souleyman Diallo, 28, at the Redheugh Bridge, Gateshead, on New Year's Day.

Mr Diallo, who fled the west African country of Guinea two years ago after being detained and tortured, had feared for his life if he was forced to return.

Ms Henderson, who is to make a formal complaint to immigration commissioners, said: "Inability to access competent legal advice, difficulties in communicating his case and tight deadlines for submission of statements have contributed to his case not being properly heard.

"Souleyman Diallo should serve as a reminder to us all that asylum seekers are not simply numbers to be eroded from Home Office statistics, but human beings who look to the country to provide justice and protection lacking in theirs."

Motorist Martin Emery told the Gateshead inquest that he was driving across Redheugh Bridge on New Year's morning when he noticed Mr Diallo cross the protective barriers and stand on a ledge.

He seemed to be relaxed and did not appear to be about to jump, said Mr Emery.

Mr Diallo was later found dead at the bottom of the 100ft drop.

A friend, who only wished to be known as Mahmed, said Mr Diallo had visited him in the depths of despair on New Year's Eve - fearful of deportation after his last appeal had been rejected.

He said that Mr Diallo, who could not speak English, felt he had been misrepresented at his appeal, because of the lack of an adequate interpreter.

Gateshead and South Tyneside coroner Terence Carney said that while Mr Diallo had been depressed, there was no suicide note, or solid evidence to show he had intended to kill himself.

Recording an open verdict, he said Mr Diallo could have slipped off the icy ledge surface as he was seeking to draw attention to his plight.

A spokesman for African Community Advice in the North-East said: "His death shows how those seeking asylum feel they are treated with so little humanity."