A HOMELESS man refused to leave Hereford County Hospital for six weeks while sleeping in storage areas and making tea in the staff canteen, a court heard.

David Probert, 50, was eventually arrested following a foot chase while he was still on crutches and in a hospital gown.

At Hereford Magistrates’ Court he was given a restraining order which bans him from Hereford hospital to protect NHS staff.

If he breaks the year-long order, Probert could face up to five years in prison.

The ruling means Probert can only visit the hospital – and its grounds – for a genuine medical emergency and/or a pre-arranged medical appointment.

Probert had been charged with causing a nuisance or disturbance on NHS premises between January 15 and March 3 after refusing to leave the hospital for six weeks.

He was originally admitted with a leg fracture and, following treatment, was discharged as medically fit.

But, according to NHS project manager Tristan Morgan, the patient slept in the hospital chapel, boiler room and other storage areas and showered in the disabled toilets before making himself tea in the staff canteen.

Sergeant Duncan Reynolds, from the Hereford City Centre Policing Team, said officers were called to the hospital on several occasions to make an arrest but said Probert would then feign emergency medical conditions before being wheeled back for further tests.

Probert was eventually arrested when, still on crutches and in a hospital gown, he leapt across a railway line and hid in an allotment greenhouse, Sgt Reynolds added.

However, when Probert attended the court last Friday, Sgt Reynolds said it was in the public interest to avoid a full trial so an acquittal was sought for the charge of causing a nuisance. Magistrates then made the restraining order.

Sgt Reynolds said: “This was a unique set of circumstances which required a partnership approach between police and the NHS to resolve the issues presented by Probert and to protect staff and hospital users from further alarm and distress.

“The restraining order was the desired outcome.”