A man caused panic at a Newcastle hospital, terrifying young patients during a lengthy standoff with police
Newcastle: A wild scene unfolded at the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) when a man named Gary Hughes went off the rails for nine hours. He was convinced that hospital staff were out to get him, which led to a chaotic situation that left seriously ill kids terrified.
Hughes climbed onto the roof and started smashing tiles, throwing them at anyone nearby, including NHS staff and police. Can you imagine how scared the kids in the Great North Children’s Hospital must have been? Some were already battling cancer, and this just added to their fear.
The police got the call around 7:40 AM, and it took until nearly 5 PM for them to get him down. He claimed he was trying to get attention because he felt unsafe after a previous incident. But the damage was done—he caused about £25,000 worth of destruction.
Parents were understandably upset, saying their kids were frightened by all the shouting and the heavy police presence. It was a total mess, with hundreds of patients affected and areas of the hospital needing to be cordoned off.
In court, Hughes, who has a long criminal history, pleaded guilty to causing a public nuisance and criminal damage. The judge sentenced him to 16 months in prison, emphasizing the serious impact his actions had on vulnerable children and their families.
His lawyer mentioned that Hughes was genuinely sorry for what he did, claiming he was acting out of a paranoid delusion. It’s a sad situation all around, but it’s hard to imagine the fear those kids felt during that ordeal.
