The Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) obtained an urgent court order to cancel the registration of Southfield Care Homes in Brackley after last Friday's random check found residents were "at serious risk" because of poor care standards.

No suggestion has been made that the hospital admissions or deaths were linked to either the standard of care at the privately owned home or its closure.

In a statement, a Northamptonshire County Council spokesman said: "Northamptonshire Police, together with Commission for Social Care Inspection and other agencies, are examining in more detail the information that is available about the quality of care that was provided.

"The examination of any information, which is a standard procedure for safeguarding adults, will take some weeks."

The case highlights the need for more effective care home checks, said the charity Age Concern. It said Southfield failed to meet key standards of care over a six-year period but inspectors had little power to enforce recommendations other than by shutting the home down.

Gordon Lishman, of Age Concern England, said: "This case shows that checks on care homes need to be made more effective if neglect of residents is to be prevented.

"Inspections need to be more robust and more frequent and inspectors need to have the power to impose sanctions that would stop institutional abuse in its tracks."

Southfield Care Homes was registered to provide personal and nursing care for up to 52 elderly people. When its registration was cancelled there were 34 living there.