Fourteen people died in or following police custody in a year, figures show

Fourteen people died in or following police custody in the space of a year and there were three fatal shootings by officers, figures have shown.

The number of people shot in 2015/16 was the second highest figure recorded since 2004/5, watchdog the Independent Police Complaints Commission said.

The total number of deaths was down from the five-year high of 17 seen in 2014/15, which was six more than the previous 12 months.

Seven of those who died in custody in 2015/16 had mental health issues, while 12 used drugs or alcohol.

Figures for 2015/16 released by the IPCC on Tuesday showed there were 21 road traffic deaths, up seven from the previous year. Thirteen of the deaths were in police chases.

The IPCC investigated 102 other deaths following police contact, more than double the number - 43 - that were probed the previous year, but the watchdog said this was due to beefed up resources.

There were 60 apparent suicides, 22 of whom had been arrested for alleged sex crimes including 17 accused of abusing children.

The three people who died after being shot by police marksmen in 2015/16 were:

:: James Fox, 43, who was killed by officers in Enfield, north London, on August 31 2015 after allegedly brandishing a gun at a block of flats.

:: Richard Davies, 41, was fatally shot at his home in St Neots, Cambridgeshire, after a stand off with police on October 21 2015.

:: Jermaine Baker, 28, from Tottenham in north London, was killed in a police operation near Wood Green Crown Court, also north London, on December 11 2015.

Figures from the IPCC show there were five fatal shootings in each of the years 2005/06 and 2007/08, and there were three in 2008/09. There was one in 2014/15.