A PETITION calling for a public inquiry into the Poppi Worthington case hit more than 1,500 signatures within 24 hours of going live online.

The appeal, which appeared on the parliament.uk site on Thursday morning, reads:

"The family court judge and senior coroner ruled that 13-month-old Poppi Worthington was abused before she died. No one has been charged for her death after officers made mistakes in the investigation.

"Poppi was unknown to social services before she died, concerning for child protection in the UK.

"We call on the Prime Minister to order a public inquiry to make recommendations to:

- improve child safeguarding processes

- strengthen the police disciplinary process

- determine whether Cumbria Police has truly learnt the lessons of this case

- examine whether the resources provided to agencies involved in child protection to fulfil their safeguarding responsibilities."

To sign the petition click here .

By Friday afternoon, the petition had reached almost 1,700 signatures and was growing every minute.

On Sunday, four of Cumbria's MPs - representing all three main political parties - issued an open letter to Theresa May calling on her to act over Poppi's case.

The representatives for Barrow and Furness, John Woodcock; Copeland, Trudy Harrison; Westmorland and Lonsdale, Tim Farron; and Workington, Sue Hayman, all signed the letter.

On Wednesday, Barrow and Furness MP John Woodcock asked the prime minister how she would respond during Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons.

Mrs May said she is "shocked and appalled" at the "tragic" circumstances surrounding the death of the 13-month-old Barrow baby. She went on to describe the tot's case as "significant" - before adding she is to consider whether further action should be taken.

Poppi died on December 12, 2012 just a day after she had taken her first two steps.

Last week, a coroner ruled she had been sexually assaulted by her 50-year-old father, Paul Worthington, in her final hours. She suffocated shortly after the attack having been placed to sleep in Mr Worthington's double bed, Cumbria's senior coroner David Roberts ruled.

Mr Roberts's conclusion mirrors that of High Court judge Mr Justice Jackson, now Lord Justice Jackson, who ruled in January 2016 that Mr Worthington had sexually abused his daughter before her death. Mr Worthington has always denied the allegation.

Forthright criticisms of an investigation carried out by Cumbria Constabulary were made by the coroner during his conclusion. Key pieces of evidence including Mr Worthington's bedsheet, which showed a wet stain on police photographs, Poppi's pink elephant pillow, and the laptop used by Mr Worthington to watch x-rated adult pornography, were not seized or obtained. Mr Roberts accepted, however, that improvements had now been secured by the constabulary to ensure failures of this nature could not be repeated.

Following the petition's launch, MP John Woodcock said: "This is our chance for the community to speak as one and demand a public inquiry into Poppi Worthington's death. Let’s all sign and spread word of this petition far and wide; let’s convince the government to honour Poppi’s memory by launching a petition that can restore public confidence in our police and make children across the country safer.

"The Mail has led the way in calls for a public inquiry, it is a privilege to work together to launch a fresh Downing Street petition."