BASINGSTOKE MP Andrew Hunter has asked the Secretary of State for Health, Alan Milburn, to launch an inquiry into the closure of Beechwood Lodge.

In a letter to Mr Milburn MP, Mr Hunter said serious mistakes have been made and he wants the actions of Hampshire Social Services and other agencies to be examined.

His call follows reports in The Gazette on Friday that four former residents of the hostel for the homeless had died.

All four men died within two years of being moved out of Beechwood lodge and into the community,following Stonham Housing Association's decision to close the hostel.

Beechwood residents were given public assurances that their needs would be assessed and care packages be provided.

Mr Hunter said: "t now transpires that many former residents were given no support in the community. They were left to fend for themselves.

"What happened is tragic. Vulnerable people should never have been allowed to live by themselves without any support.

"It was obvious to those of us who knew Beechwood Lodge residents that many of them were incapable of coping for themselves, yet Hampshire Social Services and Stonham apparently allowed this to happen."

Mr Hunter said there is a similarity with the case of when elderly residents were moved out of Park Prewett mental hospital in 1994, when eight patients died within four months of being moved out of the hospital.

* For a full round up of the story and the latest developments find out in Friday's paper.