THE accident and emergency department at Worcester hospital had to be evacuated after a patient went on the rampage, wrecking expensive medical kit and threatening to kill staff.

Neil O'Brien made 'animal noises' including 'growling', took off his clothes, smashed a cardiac arrest alarm and put his foot through a wall during the incident at Worcestershire Royal Hospital.

Patients, including the elderly and infirm, had to leave the ward in the early hours of Saturday, February 24 because of O'Brien's escalating behaviour. The court heard that the defendant had stopped taking his anti-psychotic medication before the incident.

The 42-year-old of Barnfield Road, Stourport, had already admitted affray, criminal damage and violent behaviour in a police station (section 51) when he was sentenced over videolink at Worcester Crown Court on Friday.

Lal Amarasinghe, prosecuting, said O'Brien returned to the hospital at 1am after attended the previous morning.

He was seen by a mental health nurse who spoke to him in an assessment room, asking him what had changed from the night before to which O'Brien replied: "You tell me."

Mr Amarasinghe said O'Brien began to display 'strange behaviour', including making 'animal noises'.

The defendant was asked to leave the room by by the nurse but refused to do so and became aggressive towards her, swore and said: "I will kill you!"

The nurse left and called security at the Medical Assessment Unit and police also arrived on the scene.

"He started taking his clothes off and said he was ready to destroy the place" said Mr Amarasinghe.

His behaviour began to escalate and he threatened people he could see through a small window in the door.

One of the security guards had to use his body weight to stop O'Brien getting out of the room and into the ward.

"His behaviour was such that the ward had to be evacuated in the early hours of Saturday morning.

"This was A&E in Worcester where there were, as noted by some of the witnesses, infirm people who had to be moved and elderly people who feared for their safety" said Mr Amarasinghe.

O'Brien ripped out a cardiac arrest alarm, destroying it so that the alarm was 'permanently on' which Mr Amarasinghe said was of concern because it meant a genuine emergency could not be dealt with properly.

He also kicked his foot through a wall and pulled an air conditioning control panel off the wall, exposing live wires.

In total the damage was placed at £3,000 and the section of the hospital had only recently been refurbished at a cost of £50,000, the court heard.

The defendant was 'contained' by police and security in the room while he 'smashed it up' and it took senior police officers to subdue him.

Mr Amarsinghe said: "The reality is that ripping out the cardiac arrest alarm causes great risk of harm. It's a critical communication device for the hospital, especially for A&E."

Sukhdev Bisla, defending, said O'Brien was now taking his anti-psychotic drugs. There had been a gap in the defendant's offending between 1999 and 2015.

He said O'Brien had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia at the age of 39 and had suffered from mental health difficulties since he was 16.

Judge Daniel Pearce-Higgins QC said: "The matters at the hospital were serious and caused significant damage and great inconvenience to all."

However, he said O'Brien had low culpability because of his condition which was addressed using anti-psychotic medication.

"On occasion he has chosen not to take the medication because he feels well" said judge Pearce-Higgins.

O'Brien had already been in custody for the better part of three months.

The judge sentenced him to a two year community order with 60 rehabilitation activity days.

"I won't let this happen again" said O'Brien over the videolink.

No order was made for costs or compensation as the judge said the defendant had 'non-existent means'.

However, he must pay an £85 victim surcharge.