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Man jailed after attacking NHS nurse until she lost consciousness

<p>The assault took place in Homerton Hospital</p> (Google Maps)

The assault took place in Homerton Hospital

(Google Maps)

A man has been jailed for assaulting an NHS nurse as she worked on shift at a hospital in east London.

Prince Isaac Walker, 32, attacked the 36-year-old woman while she was working in the A&E department of Homerton Hospital in the early hours of Thursday.

The victim lost consciousness and needed treatment after the assault, the Metropolitan Police said.

It is understood the nurse is recovering from the incident and is now resting at home.

Appearing in court in custody on Friday morning, he pleaded guilty to one charge of an assault on an emergency worker.

He was then sentenced to 26 weeks in custody by District Judge Gillian Allison, Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court said.

It came the day after a man was arrested for allegedly starting a fire and threatened NHS workers with a screwdriver in Leeds General Infirmary (LGI).

Staff fighting the war on Covid-19, which has caused nearly 100,000 deaths in the UK, had to be quickly evacuated.

West Yorkshire Police said officers were called to the hospital just before 6pm on Thursday following reports of a man armed with a screwdriver threatening to start a blaze.

Social media posts showed a large number of police and fire vehicles outside the emergency department of LGI amid reports of smoke in corridors inside.

In a statement, police said: “Police were called to the Leeds General Infirmary at about 5.54pm to a report of a man in possession of a screwdriver who was causing damage in a unit and had made threats, and was attempting to start a fire.

“The area was evacuated and officers attended, located, and arrested a man.

“West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service also attended the hospital and extinguished the fire inside the affected area, which was unoccupied at the time.

“No-one is believed to have been injured in the incident.

“Police remain on scene and the suspect remains in custody.”

A spokeswoman for Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust said: “We can confirm that there was a small fire at Leeds General Infirmary this evening.

“The fire was extinguished quickly and nobody was injured.

“Staff and patients were evacuated from the building for a short period and police investigations into the cause of the fire are ongoing.

“We would like to thank our staff and the emergency services who responded quickly to the incident.”