'Missed opportunities' in teen river death - family

Safeguarding officials "missed opportunities" to intervene before a 16-year-old girl drowned in York, her family said.

Leah Bedford went missing on 20 September 2023 and her body was found eight days later in the River Ouse by Terry Avenue.

Concluding her inquest on Tuesday, senior coroner Jonathan Heath stated that it "could not be established how she entered the river" and recorded a narrative verdict.

Speaking outside Northallerton Coroner's Court, Leah's family said they felt the "response to incidents leading up to her death did not meet the appropriate level of urgency or care". City of York Council said it would "continue to learn from such complex circumstances".

North Yorkshire Police were also approached for comment.

The last known sighting of Leah was in the early hours of the morning near Lendal Bridge.

On Monday, the inquest heard she had been assessed as being of "immediate high risk" shortly before her death after she had reported being sexually assaulted.

Kristian John Franks was accused of raping Leah in a vehicle on 6 September, but the case was dropped after the teenager died. Leah's evidence was later used to help convict Franks of a separate rape offence committed in 2017.

During the inquest, the family said they did not feel Leah was "competent to make her own decisions" at 16 and questioned why she was considered capable to do so.

Speaking after its conclusion, her aunt Jayne Reynolds said: "These missed opportunities in our view left Leah more vulnerable than she should have been."

She added that while Leah "struggled at times to find her place to cope", she was "deeply loved" by the family and her loss had created "an immeasurable void".

"We share these concerns not to assign blame but in the hope that lessons can be learnt and that other families will receive timely, thorough and coordinated support in the future," Ms Reynolds added.

Martin Kelly, corporate director of children and education at City of York Council, said: "Our thoughts remain with Leah's family and friends, who've been through so much following this tragic incident.

"Leah touched very many people in her young life, and we will continue to learn from such complex circumstances to ensure services and support develop in her memory."

In a statement submitted to the inquest, Leah's father Paul Bedford described her as “a popular girl, true to herself” and “outgoing, bubbly, happy and unfazed by judgement”.

Following the deaths of her mother, grandmother and aunt, she began to socialise with an older crowd at the age of 15 to 16 and was introduced to alcohol and drugs, he said.

The family tried to set boundaries with Leah, he said, including working with social services.

Mr Bedford said they were informed that Leah was classed as an adult at 16, with the teenager deciding to live at a hostel for vulnerable young people.

Nicola Everett-Joel, who was service manager at child and adolescent mental health services in York at the time, told the inquest the team had conducted an "after action review" following Leah's death.

She said several learning points were established, including further training being needed on electronic documentation to highlight specific points for other practitioners to find key information quickly.

Ms Everett-Joel also noted that on one occasion where Leah had called a crisis line, an immediate action plan wasn't produced.

She added that additional safeguarding training was now rolled out as mandatory staff training.

She also apologised to the family for a delay to send out a condolence letter to Mr Bedford.

Recording the narrative conclusion, Mr Heath said that while Leah had taken a "large quantity" of drugs on the night of her disappearance it was "not possible" to say what effect it had on her.

He added that he could not be satisfied that she took drugs or entered the water "with the intention of taking her life".

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