The former head of care at a special school in Comet country has been found dead after failing to appear at trial to answer charges of child sex offences. David Harris, who worked at Hilltop Special Boarding School in Stevenage, was found dead by in bed

The former head of care at a special school in Comet country has been found dead after failing to appear at trial to answer charges of child sex offences.

David Harris, who worked at Hilltop Special Boarding School in Stevenage, was found dead by in bed by police after they forced their way into his Plymouth home on Wednesday.

The 63-year-old failed to appear for trial on Tuesday at Luton Crown Court charged with 30 sexual offences against five boys at the school between 1972 and 1990. The school is now closed.

A cause of death has yet to be established.