Shipley MP Chris Leslie today backed a coroner's call for an inquiry into the death of a Bradford drug addict.

Kelly Pearson died on the streets of Soho after being summonsed to a London Court hundreds of miles from her Shipley home - for a charge that had already been dealt with.

Police in Bradford had escorted her to the capital after they had picked her up on a drunk and disorderly charge on November 5.

Records wrongly showed there was an outstanding warrant for her arrest. It had actually been dealt with several months before.

Once the mistake was discovered, Kelly was released from court to find her own way home - only to die from a drug overdose.

Mr Leslie today said there were "strange circumstances" surrounding the warrant asking her to attend Horseferry Magistrates Court rather than one nearer to her home.

He said he would be asking for a full report of the inquest's proceedings and he backed coroner Dr Stephen Chan in demanding an inquiry.

He said: "It seems clear to me that Kelly was in a vulnerable situation. She should have been asked to attend a court closer to home.

"There are clearly strange circumstances in summoning her to a London court.

"I think it is only reasonable there should be a review into these proceedings. When I get a full report I should be able to take these matters up with the authorities involved."

Kelly, 30, was found dead in a rubbish pile in November 1999. Dr Chan described her London trip as an administrative blunder.

An inquest jury returned a verdict of death by misadventure after hearing that Kelly, who lived with her mother in Norwood Avenue, Shipley, had a history of mental health problems and drug and alcohol abuse.

At the end of the hearing, Dr Stephen Chan, Coroner for Inner North London, said he expected there to be an inquiry into why the error in taking her to London had occurred.

Her grieving mother, Jean Pearson, 56, wanted the people involved in taking her to London to be "held accountable for their actions" and has said she is prepared to take her case all the way to the European Court of Justice.

But the police today defended their actions.

A spokeswoman for West Yorkshire police said it was a "sad and tragic" case, adding their sympathies lay with the family. She said officers routinely check the national computer when they make an arrest.

"Officers have to rely on the information given on the Police National Computer.

"Our involvement ends when someone is handed over to another force or Group Four."

The Police Complaints Authority had looked into the case and rejected it in November 2000.