A CARE officer who struck a 14-year-old painfully on the nose hours before the teenager killed himself told police he was acting ‘‘on instinct’’, an inquest was told.

Adam Rickwood, the youngest person to die in custody in modern times, was found hanged in his room at Hassockfield Secure Training Centre, near Medomsley, County Durham, in August 2004, where he had been left bleeding and face down on the floor by four members of staff.

They had used physical control in care (PCC) – lifting the eight stone boy by the arms, legs and holding his head – then care officer Steve Hodgson applied pressure on his nose as he thrashed about, after Adam, from Burnley, refused to go to his room following a dispute with a member of staff.

Mr Hodgson had used a socalled nose distraction technique on him – a short, sharp burst to the base of the nose with two fingers – a restraint the High Court has since ruled was unlawful.

Giving evidence at the inquest in Easington yesterday, Mr Hodgson said he had been arrested in 2005 on suspicion of assaulting Adam, but had not been charged with any offence.

Interviewed under caution, police investigators told him he had “acted against the rules”. But Mr Hodgson said to them: “Yeah. Obviously I just went on my instincts, whether right or wrong, I thought I was doing the right thing at the time.”

Yesterday, Mr Hodgson, who has since left Hassockfield, said he had believed he was acting lawfully and according to his training.

An instructor in PCC, he said he had been taught that restraints could be used to maintain good order and discipline.

But rules governing the use of restraints explicitly allowed PCC in only specific circumstances, the jury has been told. These include to prevent trainees from escaping custody or from harming themselves or others, or causing damage to property.

Mr Hodgson said Adam had been restrained when he refused to comply with the order to go to his room.

He said he feared Adam was trying to bite his fingers and warned him twice that he was going to apply nose distraction before using it – and causing his nose to bleed.

Assistant deputy coroner Jeremy Freedman asked:“This is a young, 14-year-old boy, 5ft 1in, eight stone, and you are 5ft 10in and about 12 stone.

“Are you saying that with both hands you couldn’t control his head in such a way as to prevent him biting you?”

“Not 100 per cent,” he replied.

Rajiv Menon, for the boy’s family, asked Mr Hodgson: “On a human level, do you not think it was wrong to use a technique like this on a vulnerable 14-year-old child?”

He replied: “It does work. It can work. It does calm young people down. It is not something I enjoyed doing. Why would I?”

Mr Hodgson said he had asked to see Adam again two hours later, before he finished work.

He said: “I didn’t want to go home without seeing him.

That’s not the type of person I am. I called to see if he had calmed down.”

Mr Hodgson said that when he helped Adam make a telephone call to his solicitor, he heard him say he had been restrained and his nose had been broken.

Mr Menon said: “That surely told you that he was clearly not back to normal. He was making a complaint in your presence about you breaking his nose.

“He was still upset and angry about what you had done to him.”

Mr Hodgson said: “After the phone call he seemed fine with himself and staff.”

Mr Menon replied: “Four hours later he took his own life. He was not fine.”

Adam had been on remand on an allegation of wounding.

The inquest continues.