A Teesside mum has been chosen to front a national charity campaign calling for changes to the inquests system.

Sue Ainsworth, from Stockton, was left with unanswered questions after Teesside Coroner Michael Sheffield's investigation into her son Jonathan Morgan's death. 

The family believes the 21-year-old succumbed to a heart condition, but are now struggling to work out if his sister Rhiannon could be affected too because Jonathan's heart was never sent away for analysis. 

Now the charity Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) has asked Sue, who had to wait eight months for an inquest, to be the face of a new campaign highlighting the varying levels of service offered to families across the country. 

"I had a bad experience so they are going to use my case compared to one for a family down south whose inquest only took three weeks," she said.

"It really is a postcode lottery.  The service you get depends on where you live.  We're really angry about the way our inquest was handled, which is why I feel so strongly that changes to the whole system need to be introduced."

Mr Sheffield, 81, survived a campaign for his dismissal over lengthy waiting times nearly 10 years ago, and is now under renewed pressure after statistics showed that the backlog of cases on Teesside is on the rise again. 

He has faced criticism from several families and MPs, who have called for changes to the inquest system to make coroners more accountable.

The coroner's office says the delays are due to a lack of officer help from Cleveland Police - a claim the force has denied. 

Families have to wait more than 10 months on average for an inquest, far longer than the recommended maximum time of six months. 

Mrs Ainsworth, 52, said she was "not surprised" that waiting times for inquests are increasing on Teesside. 

The CRY campaign will urge supporters to send the postcard to their MP, to ask the Government to drop plans to axe the proposed cost of Chief Coroner, which could oversee inquest services across the country and make coroners more accountable. 

The Gazette contacted the coroner's office last night but no one was available to comment.