THE mother of a teenage girl convicted of battering a vulnerable woman to death claimed tonight (Thursday, June 2) that social services failed her daughter.

She added that the murder of Angela Wrightson in her own home in Stephen Street, Hartlepool, by her daughter, then just 13, and a 14-year-old girl, could have been prevented with better support.

In an interview with Tyne Tees news, the mother also offered an apology to Ms Wrightson's parents.

The 39-year-old sustained more than 100 injuries and was beaten with a coffee table, shovel, television and and stick with screws before she died in December 2014. Both girls, who cannot be named, were convicted of murder and sentenced to 15 years' detention.

A number of reviews have started to find out if social services and other authorities missed opportunities to intervene, and a Hartlepool Borough Council spokesperson said the mother's concerns would be raised as part of that process.

In the interview, the younger girl’s mother said her daughter had a normal family life, and had no diagnosed conditions that would explain her behaviour.

She said her daughter started running into trouble and going missing from home after starting secondary school. She claimed social services in Hartlepool did not take her daughter’s case seriously enough.

“I asked them to put my daughter in a safe place because she was running and missing from home all the time," she said. "I literally had to beg them for the foster placement. We really wanted her out of the town, out of the bad company she was with, and her phone taken off her because she was still doing the same, running away, when she was in there.

"That's why I really wanted her in a secure place, where she knew if she'd done wrong, she wouldn't be able to run away from there, until she settled her behaviour down. I just wish they could have done more to help my daughter."

The mother refused to take responsibility, as a parent, for what her daughter did. She said: "She makes her own choices in life. I tried my best. I couldn't be watching her 24 hours a day. I just feel like they didn't give me enough help."

Questioned over whether the murder could have been prevented, she replied: "If they had placed her out of the town, out of the bad company she was getting involved with, yes. Because I told them I was worried something was going to happen to her, something seriously bad; or she was going to get hurt.

"They said they couldn't because you had to have a court order to take them into one of them secure accommodations, and they couldn't do that, they said."

The younger girl's mother also said she could not understand how her daughter could act in such a brutal manner. "She was always a lovely girl. It's just, since she got older, listening to the wrong people. I don't know why this happened. She never actually had a fight or anything - never been violent."

The mother offered an apology to Angela Wrightson's parents: "I'd just like to say - I'm sorry this has happened to their daughter. I don't know why my daughter got involved. I keep asking myself why. I don't know why."

Hartlepool Borough Council, which runs social services in the town, told Tyne Tees that the mother's concerns would be raised as part of major reviews underway to see if authorities missed opportunities to intervene.

A spokesperson said: "Independent multi-agency reviews are currently being undertaken following the murder of Angela Wrightson. These reviews are being led by Teeswide Safeguarding Adults Board and Hartlepool Safeguarding Children Board.

"The council, along with all other agencies involved in this case, is participating fully in this process which will involve national experts to help determine whether any lessons can be learnt.

"The mother who has spoken to ITV News Tyne Tees can be assured that her concerns will be raised as part of the review process.

"It would not be appropriate for the council to comment further on any aspect of the cases until the reviews are concluded."