Man's chilling words to police after walking into NHS hospital with axe

John Proctor, 44, arrived astatine Hull Royal Infirmary with an axe and began shouting astir 'kicking someone's caput in' arsenic helium walked towards the main entranceway of the building's A&E

A antheral who stormed the A&E section of a hospital and made threats with an axe that could person "split someone's caput open" has been jailed for 14 months.

John Proctor, 44, was stateless and utilizing drugs erstwhile helium was recovered astatine Hull Royal Infirmary with a "fearsome" and "highly dangerous" wood splitter axe that could person been utilized to "split someone's caput open". He was besides equipped with a kitchen knife erstwhile helium started threatening 2 women and a man.

Proctor admitted 2 offences of possessing a leaf successful nationalist connected January 8, Hull Crown Court heard. Billy Torbett, prosecuting, said that a pistillate who worked astatine Hull Royal Infirmary was connected her interruption astatine astir 1.45am and was smoking extracurricular the hospital's beforehand entranceway erstwhile Proctor approached the main entranceway of Accident and Emergency and began threatening to footwear someone's caput in.

"She saw and alerted police officers, who were connected their mode inside," said Mr Torbett. Two constables asked Proctor to measurement extracurricular due to the fact that of reports astir him having a weapon. "The suspect was recovered with a ample metallic entity concealed wrong his jacket," said Mr Torbett. "He moved his manus towards his overgarment truthful the entity was removed.

"The point recovered was a ample wood splitter – referred to arsenic an axe." He was arrested and it became evident that helium was successful possession of a weapon and the wood splitter astatine the clip that helium made threats to 2 women.

The idiosyncratic who made the archetypal ailment said that Proctor had thrown the weapon down a bin extracurricular the hospital. The wood splitter measured astir 20cm successful magnitude and width, and was rusty and heavy, weighing 5 to 7kg. The black-handled weapon was astir 4 inches agelong and was lodged done the wrong of a metallic bar.

Proctor aboriginal told police: "It's an axe. It's to bash my wood. I don't request nary weapons but I'll stab immoderate c*** up, mate." Explaining the reasons helium was armed, the suspect claimed it was a murphy knife, and that helium utilized the axe for chopping wood arsenic helium lived successful a tent. He added that helium was astatine the infirmary for a check-up due to the fact that helium had been assaulted a mates of days earlier.

Proctor had convictions for 20 erstwhile offences, including possessing an violative weapon, causing grievous bodily harm with intent and wounding with intent successful October 2013. Holly Thompson, mitigating, said helium pleaded blameworthy astatine the archetypal accidental and had not been successful custody for astir 3 years. He had been connected a assemblage bid astatine the clip of the offences.

A fewer days earlier the incident, his structure was burned down and helium suffered burns due to the fact that helium was wrong it astatine the time. He was aboriginal assaulted by immoderate males. Proctor had the weapons with him astatine the clip for his ain extortion but, without immoderate logical thinking, helium threw the weapon away. He was stateless astatine the clip and helium had suffered problems since 2022. He had been successful custody since January 9 but astatine slightest helium had a extortion implicit his head, said Miss Thompson.

Judge Mark Bury said that constabulary recovered the wood splitter successful Proctor's overgarment and determination was besides a home-made sheath and immoderate signifier of strap implicit his enarthrosis wherever helium would person kept the knife. He disposed of the weapon down a bin. Proctor was "acting aggressively extracurricular a hospital" and helium past went wrong with a "fearsome" and "highly dangerous" splitting axe. "You could divided someone's caput unfastened with it," said Judge Bury.

Proctor, 44, of Hull, was jailed for 14 months.