AN independent inquiry is being held into the supervision of a Bolton teenager who brutally murdered her friend while in social services care.

Nicola Faughey was 16 when she stabbed 35-year-old Joanne Whitelegg to death on Valentine's Day 2000.

She was jailed for life at Manchester Crown Court last July after admitting manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

The court heard Faughey had stabbed Miss Whitelegg 27 times with three different weapons during a frenzied attack at her flat in Westwood Close, Farnworth.

The inquiry by Wigan and Bolton Health Authority will look at the treatment and care of Faughey by the child and adolescent mental health and social services in Bolton. It will examine, in particular, whether she was appropriately supervised and whether she posed a risk to others.

The findings of the review will be published later this year. Miss Whitelegg's family welcomed the news. Her sister Sally Pickering, 35, from Hull, said: "Although it has stirred up some painful memories, we are pleased and relieved. There are issues we feel need to be looked at more closely if only to make sure that this never happens again. Joanne's murder should never have happened. I believe it could have been prevented."

Miss Whitelegg had complained to social services bosses that she was being hounded by the teenager. Faughey had set fire to her front door and cut her electricity supply but Miss Whitelegg had not taken the matter any further.

Over time the pair became close friends. Miss Whitelegg's family believe Faughey had formed a bizarre infatuation with her and became increasingly possessive, seeing Miss Whitelegg as a mother figure.

After the stabbing, paramedics found Faughey cradling Miss Whitelegg's body.

But Miss Whitelegg's sister today said Faughey had made no attempt to save her sister's life and attempted to blame someone else for the killing. She continued to deny the charge until her trial.

Faughey was taken on a shopping trip by social services staff the day after the killing to help her overcome her ordeal.

A spokesman for Wigan and Bolton Health Authority said: "In keeping with Department of Health guidelines, the health authority has established an independent inquiry to review the treatment and care of Nicola Faughey.

"It will be carried out by an independent panel established to review the quality and scope of the health and social care that she received and the appropriateness of her treatment, care and supervision."