Child in mental health crisis lived at police station for two days, chief reveals

The detained teenager spent more than 48 hours in an interview room while police searched nationwide for a specialist mental health bed. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

A child experiencing a mental health crisis had to live in a police station for two days due to a lack of psychiatric places, a chief constable has revealed, as he condemned austerity for hitting the poorest areas hardest.

Sir David Thompson, who leads West Midlands police, said his force – which is still missing officers and funding after cuts – was being asked to do too much, and warned of rising crime as desperation increases in the poorest areas.