An emergency order was taken out to shut Southfield Care Home in Brackley after safety inspections concluded residents were being put at "serious risk".

A county council spokesman has confirmed the authority is working with Northamptonshire Teaching PCT to care for residents.

He said: "We can confirm the death of two terminally-ill residents, who had been receiving nursing home care at Southfield Care Homes, and our thoughts and sympathies are with their families and friends at this time of loss."

Details of the circumstances around the deaths have not been revealed.

"This is a privately-owned care home for elderly people in receipt of nursing care, some of whom are in the terminal stages of illness," the spokesman added.

"During safeguarding investigations such as this, it is commonplace and routine for post mortems to be carried out to establish the cause of death.

"We are now working with Northamptonshire Teaching PCT to address the health and care needs of all the residents at the home, in both the immediate and long term."

The council also confirmed an investigation has been launched into the quality of care provided.

The spokesman added: "As part of the routine procedures for safeguarding vulnerable adults, used when there is a concern about the quality of care, Northamptonshire Police, together with Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) and other agencies, are examining in more detail the information that is available about the quality of care that was provided."

The examination of information, a standard procedure for safeguarding adults, is expected to take some weeks.

Announcing the closure, the CSCI said: "Matters came to a head last week, when our inspectors decided that the safety and welfare of the people living there was being put at serious risk.

"We could not allow this to continue and that is why we sought the urgent order to cancel the registration," he added.

Care home closed after risk to welfare - click here