A CALL for community action in the wake of the death of a teenager who was in care has been made by her MP.
Police are not treating as suspicious the death of Darlene Bell (15) in a park in Co Down. She died of suspected solvent abuse, thought to be from an aerosol. A postmortem has been conducted.
The health and social services trust, which was responsible for the girl, has said a review will be carried out.
Darlene had been staying at Ashgrove, a non-secure residential care home for young people, but was found dead in Glenford Park near the centre of Newtownards in the early house of Monday.
The PSNI is investigating the circumstances of the death. A spokesman said only: “A 15-year-old girl was discovered in the Corry Street area of Newtownards shortly after 1am on Monday.”
Barnardo’s, the charity that had formerly looked after Darlene, said she was a “loveable child”. Spokeswoman Lynda Wilson said: “She was a bright spark of a little girl and a very loveable child. Our staff loved her very much and they are devastated by her death.”
DUP MP for Strangford Jim Shannon said: “I have had meetings with police and some of the other organisations to try and ensure we have an action or a programme to prevent this ever happening again.
Fionnuala McAndrew, director of social services with the Health and Social Care Board, said a review of what happened would be carried out.