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A jury in the inquest into the death of a Liverpool man found dead in his cell has concluded staff did not take adequate steps to keep him safe in custody.

Keith Abbott, a 32-year-old with a history of mental health problems, was found dead on the morning of July 15 in 2016 in a single occupancy cell while serving a four-year sentence at Haverigg jail in Cumbria for attempted robbery and offensive weapon possession.

A pathologist concluded Mr Abbott died due to hanging, and also found he was subjected to a serious sexual assault in the hour before his death.

At the end of a 10-day inquest in Carlisle, a jury which heard evidence from around 60 witnesses concluded Liverpool-born Mr Abbott, latterly of Edge Lane, died at around 7pm on July 14 - shortly after prisoners were locked down for the night.

Mr Abbott's death was not discovered until around 9am the following morning.

This was after three separate routine visual roll checks, through cell door observation hatches, should have been undertaken by prison employees to establish the wellbeing of inmates.

During evidence, jurors heard one former senior staff member describe staffing levels as "severe", and that workers were "becoming burnt out".

As a result, searches for the banned synthetic substance spice that the prison was battling to contain had been "scaled back".

A toxicologist found no evidence to indicate Mr Abbott had used or was administered with spice. However, the expert concluded it wasn't possible to exclude the use or administration of synthetic cannabinoids, due to difficulties detecting the ingestion of those substances immediately prior to such rapid deaths.

Police made a number of arrests in the wake of Mr Abbott's death. But after an investigation amid reports of physical and sexual assaults within the prison, no charges were brought.

Several prisoners had insisted they weren't involved in any sexual assault on Mr Abbott, nor involved in his death.

After hearing all evidence, an 11-strong jury of six women and five men concluded the sexual assault was a "more than minimal, trivial or negligible cause" of his death by hanging.

Asked whether adequate steps were taken by staff at HMP Haverigg to keep Mr Abbott safe, the jury's foreman announced its unanimous conclusion by saying: "No."

Helplines and support networks If you have been affected by any of the issues discussed in this article or need to talk someone, the NHS Choices website lists the following helplines and support networks: Samaritans operates a 24-hour service on available every day of the year by calling 116 123, and an email service is available at jo@samaritans.org. Childline , on 0800 1111, runs a helpline for children and young people in the UK. Calls are free and the number do not show up in the phone bill. PAPYRUS , 0800 068 4141, is an organisation supporting teenagers and young adults who are feeling suicidal. Depression Alliance is a charity for people with depression. It does not have a helpline, but offers resources and links to other relevant information. Students Against Depression is a website for students who are depressed, have a low mood or are having suicidal thoughts. Bullying UK is a website for both children and adults affected by bullying.

Factors which probably contributed to his death, jurors found, included admitted roll check failings, no medication for mental health at the prison, internal communication issues, a lack of CCTV, inadequate cell checks for contraband and "insufficient staff levels".

The inquest heard the jail's operational capacity had been slashed from 644 to 260 following Mr Abbott's death; and that prisoners' billets - including his - on what was a former RAF base had since been closed down.

Senior coroner Kally Cheema noted that "substantial changes" had been made.

Speaking through a solicitor after the hearing, Mr Abbott's partner, Linda Bailey, said: "I am pleased with the conclusion the jury have reached, and the inquest has gone a long way in answering the many questions I had unanswered following Keith's death.

"The prison was clearly an unsafe environment, and it is extremely sad that it has taken Keith's death to recognise that and close the billets down."