PEOPLE who are detained with mental health problems in York will no longer be held in police cells but taken to a new “place of safety” unit.

North Yorkshire had been the only county in the country without a designated place of safety unit, but after significant pressure, approval has been given for a £400,000-a-year unit to be opened at Bootham Park Hospital in the autumn.

The announcement has been welcomed by the family of Toni Speck, a 31-year-old from Huntington who died in June 2011 after being detained under the Mental Health Act at Fulford Road police station. She died after collapsing in a cell.

Her sister Michaela Peters said: “We were informed by police and crime commissioner Julia Mulligan that the go ahead for a place of safety had been given. My family and I are happy with the news and hope that the facilities and staff employed will give as much support to people in the same situation as my sister Toni. It is a positive outcome”.

Mrs Mulligan, North Yorkshire Police and City of York Council had called for a place of safety unit to be set up urgently so people with mental health problems are detained in a safe environment with specialist staff.

Approval for the new Section 136 unit, which will staffed by nurses and a doctor, was granted by the NHS Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).

Section 136 gives police officers the authority to remove a person with an apparent mental disorder from a public place to a “place of safety” for up to 72 hours.

Professor Alan Maynard, chair of the CCG, said: “The CCG is delighted to announce that it has pledged £400,000 towards the provision of a much needed place of safety at Bootham Park Hospital in York.

“This will provide a 24/7 single point of access for all patients presented under Section 136 and allow for the direct and secure access for ambulances or police transport, while ensuring the privacy and dignity of service users and carers is maintained.”