Leyland prison staff 'missed signs of sepsis' before death of Fleetwood paedophile
Stridgeon was brought to justice decades after committing his sexual offences.
An investigation has taken place into the death of a sex offender who was a prisoner at HMP Wymott, near Leyland.
Graham Stridgeon - also known as Tony Gordon - formerly of Warrenhurst Road, Fleetwood, died of pneumonia on February 16, 2025, in hospital aged 70.
As with all deaths in custody, the circumstances were investigated by the Prison and Probation Ombudsman (PPO), who this week have released their findings and recommendations.
The background
In 2018, Stridgeon was sentenced to five years imprisonment for sexual offences. While in his late teens, he sexually abused a fellow resident at Bryn Alyn children’s home on several occasions in the 1970s. The victim was under 15 at the time. Stridgeon was arrested and charged following ‘Operation Pallial’, a National Crime Agency investigation into recent allegations of past abuse in the North Wales care system.
He was originally sentenced in October 2018 to three and a half years in prison at Mold Crown Court. In 2019 the The Court of Appeal increased his sentence to five years and 10 months, with an extended licence period of three years.
Stridgeon was briefly released in August 2024, but was recalled to prison the following month.
Death
An inquest into Stridgeon’s death was held on March 25, 2026. The Coroner concluded that he died of natural causes.
NHS England commissioned an independent clinical reviewer to review Stridgeon’s clinical care at HMP Wymott. The clinical reviewer concluded that the clinical care he received at Wymott was “partially equivalent” to that which he could have expected to receive in the community.
She noted that Mr Stridgeon had appropriate reviews and care for his long-term conditions, including diabetes. A PPO report states: “However, she found that healthcare staff missed signs of sepsis and that they should have transferred Mr Stridgeon to hospital in the evening of 11 February, rather than waiting until the next morning.”
Report
Recommendations have been made, including:
- The Head of Healthcare should ensure that all healthcare staff undertake the deteriorating patient learning module and ensure annual updates are completed.
- The Head of Healthcare should ensure that healthcare staff record prisoners’ physical observations and NEWS2 scores in their clinical record.
The PPO report also notes that “there are no records of any meaningful interaction between Mr Stridgeon and prison staff, including keyworkers, in the last four months of his life. When asked by the investigator, the prison was unable to identify a member of staff who could tell us how Mr Stridgeon had seemed during this time.”
Prison response
The prison have agreed with the Prison Group Director to deliver a restricted regime which prioritised unlocking prisoners and delivering education and workshops. They also said they aim to deliver 89 keyworker sessions per week (out of 387 when fully staffed), which they have consistently surpassed during the last four months. Keywork is prioritised for prisoners who are transgender, young adults, new to the prison or are on an imprisonment for public protection sentence. Therefore, Mr Stridgeon did not qualify for these sessions.