A mother whose disabled son was accidentally locked in his room at a Bradford respite home says she is too afraid to let him go back.

Tracie Booth said that even though her family had reached crisis point and needed a break from caring she was afraid what could happen to 20-year-old Mark if he returned.

A faulty lock on his bedroom door at Copwood Respite Unit in Holme Wood was blamed for the incident last year.

Miss Booth, of Botany Avenue, Bolton, was furious that staff at the unit did not tell her what had happened until 48 hours later.

Mark had been found in the locked room covered in his own excrement.

Miss Booth said the family had been caring for Mark since the incident and now needed a complete rest.

But Bradford District Care Trust had told her the only residential respite on offer would be at Copwood.

“I can’t send him back there. It would be wrong,” she said.

Mark, who has severe learning difficulties and cannot talk, needs 24-hour care.

The Trust, which runs the unit, apologised for the original incident, and launched an investigation.

But Miss Booth said she still needed to be reassured that her son could be kept safe at Copwood.

Mark is currently staying at home with Miss Booth, his teenage sister, Miss Booth’s partner and his 13-year-old daughter.

Sit-in respite has been offered, but Miss Booth said: “It’s not enough to have someone come and sit for a couple of hours. I need a complete break. The strain is getting to us all. We’re in crisis.”

The Trust told the Telegraph & Argus it would be inappropriate to provide a new comment on Miss Booth’s situation.