Rebecca Leighton: Saline case nurse 'scared' to go out Published duration 20 September 2011

media caption Rebecca Leighton: 'I can't walk down the street on my own' - Courtesy ITV This Morning

The nurse arrested in connection with the contamination of saline at Stepping Hill Hospital has been speaking about her "horrendous" experience.

Rebecca Leighton, 27, told ITV1's This Morning that she was unable to live a "normal life" since being released.

Miss Leighton has been told she can return to nursing but remains suspended from work while an internal investigation is carried out.

Police are still investigating three patient deaths at the hospital.

Miss Leighton was held in custody for six weeks charged with counts of criminal damage with intent to endanger life and theft. She was released without charge on 2 September.

"Because of how the media have portrayed me to be, the public will have built up an opinion about me," she said.

'Normal girl'

"Even now my life isn't normal. I'm living at my parents', I'm not living where I used to live, obviously I'm not working.

"I can't go outside my house without people taking pictures of me.

"I can't walk down the street on my own. I'm kind of a bit scared really, somebody's got to be with me all the time.

"From leading a normal life, it's far from normal."

Miss Leighton said the media portrayal of her out partying using pictures from Facebook had built up a false impression of her life.

"I was just being a normal girl, I was just out with my friends having a good time," she said.

"Everybody I know does that. I've not done anything different than anybody else would - a 27-year-old girl that goes out with her friends.

"The media portrayed it to be that work got in the way of my social life."

She said her arrest on 20 July was totally unexpected.

"It was absolutely horrendous, I woke up to the police banging on the door," she said.

"I was just not expecting what was to come at all, and that's when they arrested me.

"I just couldn't understand what was going on, why it was me that was arrested, just none of it made sense to me."

Miss Leighton said she would like to return to a career in nursing in the future.