Teessider who once sparked major armed police manhunt in Hemlington dies in prison

A criminal who once sparked a major manhunt which saw armed police swoop on Teesside has died in prison. Paul Feltham, 37, was found unresponsive in his cell at HMP Northumberland on May 31, 2022. It comes after the Hemlington[1] resident was recalled to custody on November 25, 2021, after committing further offences while on licence.

He was serving two consecutive sentences for burglary and vehicle theft. Teesside Live previously reported he was locked up for 21 months in 2018[2] after sparking a large scale police incident in Hemlington. Armed officers attended three homes on the Middlesbrough estate[3] at around 5pm on April 13 that year.

• Cleveland Police said at the time that the operation was connected to a domestic incident. A large crowd of locals gathered to watch as the hunt initially focused on a home in Elmhurst Gardens.[6] A number of police vehicles – backed up by the dog unit – could be seen waiting for instructions in the car park of Hemlington[7] Recreation Centre.

  Homes in Faygate Court and Dodford Road were also attended by officers during the manhunt. The operation lasted a number of hours and Feltham was eventually arrested, police confirmed the following day. After being recalled to prison in 2021, Feltham was transferred to HMP Northumberland in December and died five months later.

  The Teessider – who had a long history of substance misuse – had experienced mental ill-health and tried to take his own life in 2019. A new fatal incident report looking into the circumstances surrounding his death has revealed he had difficult conversations during his time at HMP Northumberland. The report states: “His friends on the house block were aware of these issues but did not think that he was in crisis when he died.

  In the weeks before his death, Mr Feltham told staff that his anxiety had increased. He did not share any other information of concern and there was nothing unusual in his presentation to suggest that he needed additional support. We consider that prison staff could not reasonably have known that there was an imminent risk to Mr Feltham’s safety.”

  The report states that on the day of his death, an operational support officer checked on Feltham during the early morning roll check but could not see him in his cell. He asked for further support. Other officers responded and, when they entered, found the Teessider unconscious.

  The 37-year-old showed no signs of life. Paramedics arrived soon after and at 6.12.am, pronounced that he had died. The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) clinical reviewer concluded that the clinical care that Feltham received was of a mixed standard.

  His clinical substance misuse and mental health care was good and equivalent to that which he could have expected to receive in the community. However, the non-clinical substance misuse support and delay in GP care was not equivalent. The clinical reviewer noted that low staffing levels affected service delivery in these areas.

  The following recommendations were made:

  • The director should ensure that all prisoners are allocated a key worker inline with Prison Service policy and that staff are given adequate time to perform the key worker role.
  • The head of healthcare should agree and implement appropriate timeframes for mental health follow-up appointments, in line with NICE guidelines.
  • The head of healthcare should ensure that healthcare staff share relevant clinical information with Human Kind staff, where this is appropriate for care planning, to provide holistic support.

  An HMP Northumberland spokesperson said: “Our thoughts remain with those affected by the death of Paul Feltham.

  We cooperated fully with the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman’s review, accepted the recommendations made in the report and implemented an action plan which has since been completed.”

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References

1. ^ Hemlington (www.gazettelive.co.uk)
2. ^ Teesside Live previously reported he was locked up for 21 months in 2018 (www.gazettelive.co.uk)
3. ^ Middlesbrough estate (www.gazettelive.co.uk)
4. ^ Police confirm ‘sudden death’ in Stockton after police and paramedics spotted outside home (www.gazettelive.co.uk)
5. ^ Family pay tribute to ‘loveable and caring’ Loftus dad who tragically died in A171 crash (www.gazettelive.co.uk)
6. ^ Cleveland Police (www.gazettelive.co.uk)
7. ^ Hemlington (www.gazettelive.co.uk)
8. ^ go here (www.gazettelive.co.uk)