A FRESH investigation into an horrific hospital death 26 years ago has turned into a major police inquiry, The Northern Echo can reveal.

Jonathan Longstaff, was one of four patients who died within 27 days of each other in the summer of 1975.

Mr Longstaff, Rosemary Gibson, Patricia Lupton and George Charters were patients on the P1 psychiatric wing of Darlington Memorial Hospital.

A fifth patient, Henry Lancaster, 42, was found hanged in his ward in April the following year after spending only four hours on the ward.

Mr Longstaff, 79, of Eden Lane, Gainford, near Darlington, burned to death in his bed on August 23. Although an independent inquiry at the time concluded the death was an accident, relatives believe key questions went unanswered.

Last night, Durham Police confirmed a team of six detectives led by Detective Superintendent Harry Stephenson - one of its most senior officers - had re-opened the case.

Det Supt Stephenson said: "We have now read reports and there are a number of matters which need closer examination. Police inquiries are in hand and we are taking the matter very seriously."

The deaths provoked a furore at the time and lead to calls for wholesale changes in the way the psychiatric department was run. They also led to the resignation of Dr Eric Burkitt, who was head of the unit.

George Beckwith, who was the hospital administrator, also stepped down shortly afterwards.

The deaths began with Mrs Gibson, 21, of Aycliffe School, who died of a drugs overdose on July 28. A few weeks later, Patricia Lupton, 22, of Fenby Avenue, Darlington, drowned in her bath.

Only hours before Mr Longstaff died on August 23, Mr Charters, who was 21, had taken a hospital van, driven to a remote spot in North Yorkshire and gassed himself.

Staff were still coping with the tragedy when the fire alarm was raised and Mr Longstaff's body was discovered. Chris Binney, a former member of the Darlington Community Health Council, was a fireman who attended the incident.

He found a Mormon booklet next to the burned bed. It was opened at a page which read: "And they shall be destroyed by fire." Yet Mr Longstaff's family say he was an atheist.

Mr Binney also discovered that shortly after the blaze, a patient with a history of starting hospital fires had to be moved out of the ward when he became agitated.

He was sent to Winterton Hospital, in Sedgefield, after threatening to set light to the ward. Yet when the independent Committee of Inquiry came to consider the case, documents referring to the patient's pyromania past had been lost or removed.

An inquest into the fire concluded the blaze had been started by Mr Longstaff who had dropped a match while smoking. However, his wife claimed afterwards that the 79-year-old had given up the habit.

Last night, Mr Binney - who spent months lobbying for the original inquiry - said he hoped the new investigation would answer the questions left unresolved 26 years ago.

He said: "It was certainly not satisfactory then - it stank. To even get the inquiry was like climbing Mount Everest. I am delighted that the matter has been reopened and will be following closely what happens."

Det Supt Stephenson stressed last night that only Mr Longstaff's death was under investigation. Although the other patient deaths will form part of the overall picture, they are not being re-examined.

He said: "Clearly as we are looking at a death which happened 26 years ago, we face some enormous difficulties."

The new inquiry was launched following a complaint by Mr Longstaff's granddaughter who felt the original investigation by the Northern Regional Health Authority left too many loose ends.

County Durham and Darlington Health Authority spokesman Edmund Lovell said: "We will provide the police with information and do our best to find all the documents although in some cases this might prove difficult.