On the evening of February 24, 2022, Lindsey Bridges received the first of two phone calls which will haunt her forever. Her daughter Lauren was on the line.
A straight-A student, she was adored by her loved ones - kind, considerate and 'the most beautiful person inside and out'. She wanted to go to university and dreamed of becoming a doctor or a nurse so she could help others.
The bitter irony that, in her mother's words, she was 'horribly failed' by the mental health system is all too clear. Lauren, 20, was autistic and had been diagnosed with a personality disorder.
There were fears for her safety as her mental ill-heath worsened. Lauren was sectioned under the Mental Health Act and transferred to a psychiatric hospital in Stockport. J oin our WhatsAp p Top Stories and Breaking News group by clicking this link That facility was more than 250 miles away from her family in Bournemouth on England's south coast.