THE father of a North-East soldier who died in mysterious circumstances at an Army base has taken his call for a public inquiry to the Labour Party spring conference.

Geoff Gray and other members of the Deepcut and Beyond campaign group collected signatures from delegates and passers-by in Blackpool, on Saturday.

Mr Gray's son, Private Geoff Gray, originally from Seaham, County Durham, was one of four recruits found dead from gunshot wounds at Deepcut Barracks, in Surrey, between 1995 and 2002.

Inquests recorded verdicts of suicide, but families of the victims remain unhappy at the outcome.

Meanwhile, a review by Devon and Cornwall Police into Surrey Police's investigation of the tragedies said it was "poorly-led, over-complicated and lacking in focus".

The families want a public inquiry that they hope will get to the truth of what happened to their children.

Mr Gray, who now lives in London, said: "The plan is to hand the various petitions to our respective MPs who will take them to Parliament.

"Nicholas Blake QC is carrying out a review of the Deepcut scenario and we hope he will recommend that an inquiry is held."

Mr Gray said the petition had generated a good response from conference delegates, adding to the thousands of signatures already collected across the country.