A private mental healthcare company has been fined £300,000 following the death of a 14-year-old girl at a hospital near Tunbridge Wells.

The Priory Group pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety regulations after Amy El-Keria was found unresponsive in her locked room at the Ticehurst House psychiatric hospital in 2012.

A jury inquest in 2016 found that neglect contributed to Amy's death and identified failures with regards to her treatment and care during her three-month admission.

A criminal investigation was then taken on by the Health and Safety Executive as Amy's mother, Tania El-Keria spoke of her woe as it was revealed staff didn't have a key to open her daughter's door and that a lack of life support training among employees meant she was "left lying on the floor" until the duty doctor arrived and started CPR.

She also expressed anger that Amy was put in an ambulance alone, with the family not told of what was going on at the hospital she described as "criminally unsafe" until several hours later.

The Priory Group said it accepted there were certain risk management procedures which were "not robust enough" but said the "shortcomings" were not causative of Amy’s death.

It also said it had taken steps to improve "weaknesses" including additional training and support for staff to enable them to better manage patients at risk of self-harm.

Ms El-Keria described the verdict at Lewes Crown Court as "a historic day in my fight for justice".

She added: "Amy loved life and I know she wanted to live. That her precious life should have ended in a place so devoid of care is something that will forever haunt me.

"This whole painful process has been marked by the Priory’s long and bitter failure to show any level of remorse or acceptance of responsibility.

"To me the Priory are a morally bankrupt company. They continue to take large sums of public money, allowing our children to suffer by placing profit over safety.

"This cannot be allowed to continue, and I will not stop fighting until this stops."

Government mental health officials have agreed to meet with Ms El-Keria and Inquest, the charity which has offered support to the family since the tragedy.

Priory bosses said its latest Care Quality Commission report, published in January, rated Ticehurst as “good” in all areas.

Chief executive Trevor Torrington added: "We remain absolutely focussed on patient safety and will continue to work closely with commissioners and regulators to learn lessons from incidents and inspections quickly and ensure all concerns are addressed in a timely and robust way."

Read more: All the latest news from Tunbridge Wells