A woman died from drugs toxicity a day after leaving a North East prison, a report has revealed. Shoplifter Melissa Ridley passed away on February 27 - the day after her release from Low Newton prison near Durham.

A Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) probe found the prison's substance misuse service (SMS) had made the 39-year-old an appointment in Carlisle, Cumbria, to collect methadone - which is used to treat heroin addiction - for the afternoon of her release.

However, when she was given temporary accommodation in Cleator Moor, around 40 miles from Carlisle, her appointment was changed by her community offender manager (COM) to the following afternoon in Whitehaven, which is closer.

Ridley, who had a history of drug use, was distressed that she would have to wait until the followi

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