JURORS considering the death of a teenager who died in a secure children’s home in County Durham have visited the facility.
An inquest is being held into the death of Taylor Alice Williams, who was 17 when she died at Aycliffe Secure Centre, in Newton Aycliffe, on February 18, 2017.
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On Wednesday, jurors visited the centre to see Taylor’s former bedroom and the rest of the home where she was living at the time of her death.
They were also shown a tribute to Taylor, which was put together by staff at the secure centre and was played during a memorial service which took place there.
The inquest at Crook Coroner’s Court started on Monday and is scheduled to take ten days.
CCTV footage from the afternoon of Taylor’s death was shown to jurors after they returned to the court yesterday afternoon.
Taylor had gone to her room at about 1pm saying she was feeling tired.
Selwyn Morgans, manager at Aycliffe, told the inquest she was being checked by staff every five minutes, through a glass window in her door.
Jurors visited Aycliffe Secure Centre to see the facility
At about 4.40pm she was found unconscious, with something around her neck.
She was taken to James Cook University Hospital, where she was declared dead.
CCTV was taken from a camera in the corridor outside her room.
The secure centre, which is the biggest in the country, can look after a total of 38 children between the ages of 10 and 18.
It has a staff of 150 people and provides a minimum of two-to-one care for children at all times.
Taylor, who was in the care of Worcestershire County Council, moved there in July 2016 after it was decided she needed to be in secure accommodation to protect her wellbeing.
At the time of her death, the centre was looking after 27 young people, though it had staff to look after 42.
Taylor, who was taken into the care of Worcestershire County Council in 2014, had a history of self-harm.
She had lived in a number of foster placements and children’s homes.
In 2016, two homes in Worcestershire and Scotland said they felt they were unable to keep Taylor safe.
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