A man with Alzheimer's was allegedly assaulted by staff at a hospital.

Police are investigating the incident which took place at the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford.

No arrests have been made and inquiries are ongoing.

The incident came to light after a whistleblower handed a video to a national newspaper.

The Independent reported the man had been forcibly restrained by three members of staff and two hospital security guards were called to help during the incident in December.

It is alleged he began to struggle and staff held him down by his arms and legs. Another is said to have held the side of his head against a pillow leaving him unable to move.

The incident was recorded by security staff and passed on to Kent Police.

A spokesman for East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust said:“We apologise unreservedly.

“Following a concern raised by a member of staff in December, we began an investigation into an incident involving the care of a patient.

“We are treating this incident with the utmost seriousness and reported it to the police. We also reported it to our regulators and are keeping the patient’s family informed of our investigation.

“We suspended a number of staff in order to facilitate the investigation which is currently on-going.”

The news comes shortly after it was announced that 26 maternity cases at the East Kent Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust - which runs the William Harvey - will be investigated by the Care Quality Commission.

This came after the inquest of Harry Richford whose death was described as "wholly avoidable".

This week Kent MPs have asked for more money for the hospitals in the Trust because conditions are "putting lives at risk."

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Read more: All the latest news from Ashford