A violent “brute” and serial thief has been jailed for attacking nurses and police officers and running amok at Harrogate District Hospital.

Philip John Watson, 32, “kicked off” inside the hospital’s A&E department where he assaulted two nurses, threatened doctors, threw a blood-pressure machine to the floor and launched a fruit-and-veg crate at a receptionist, York Crown Court heard.

Watson was on bail at the time after being arrested for a series of violent offences and shop thefts, said prosecutor Brooke Morrison.

During the “disgraceful” incident at the hospital on February 26, he went into the A&E department where he was treated for an apparent drug overdose.

He was left to “sleep it off” but when nurses went to rouse him, he began shouting and swearing at them. He then ripped the cannula, a fluid tube, from the back of his hand and pushed one of the nurses in the chest before elbowing her colleague in the shoulder “to get (her) out of his way”.

He then threw a blood-pressure machine to the floor and flicked blood from the cannula around the room. Ms Morrison added:

“He (then) stormed through A&E, pushing trolleys and trying to flip over the equipment.”

When a doctor asked him to stop, Watson threatened him before marching into the hospital reception, “again dripping blood onto the floor”. Ms Morrison said:

“He sat in a wheelchair before going outside and returning to reception with a wooden fruit-and-veg crate.”

Watson threw the crate at the ceiling, causing cracks and holes in the plastering. He then went outside, grabbed another crate and threw it at the reception desk, causing the receptionist to duck out of the way.

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He was escorted out of reception by two staff members, but then started throwing pieces of meat at nurses in the ambulance bay and threatening the ambulance driver.

Police were called in but when officers tried to cuff him, Watson tried to run away, shouting, “You will not arrest me”.

Officers took him to ground and hauled him into the police van, but Watson started kicking the police cage and told a special constable he would “bite his face off”.

Claimed to have swallowed bags of heroin

On arrival at Harrogate Police Station, Watson claimed he had swallowed bags of heroin, forcing officers to take him back to hospital for checks. On the way there, he subjected the special constable to a torrent of “foul and racist” comments.

Watson, from Harrogate but of no fixed address, was on bail at the time following a string of offences including a previous incident at the hospital on May 20 last year, when he went into A&E – again in a drink and drug-induced state – and was placed in a cubicle “to sleep it off”.

When he woke, he tried to leave the hospital through the “wrong door” and went berserk, “grabbing and shaking” doors and walking into the resuscitation room.

A doctor called for assistance and two hospital porters escorted Watson back to the cubicle where he told the doctor he wanted to “put his hands around somebody’s neck and squeeze them until their heads pop”.

Such was Watson’s “aggressive and intimidatory” behaviour, hospital staff called police who arrived to arrest him.

That same month, Watson stole alcohol from Asda on Bower Road and after being arrested he headbutted a glass door at the police station, causing it to crack.

The following month, on bail again, he elbowed a police officer in the face, causing a small cut, after being stopped on suspicion of shoplifting in Bower Street. Two other officers tried to bring him under control him, but he ran away as they fired a Taser gun at him which missed.

He was finally arrested following a short chase, but it took three officers to restrain him.

Three months later, he was arrested again for handling stolen goods after he and another man stole about £150 of clothes from TK Max at the Victoria Shopping Centre.

In October, he stole from the Co-op and used a stolen bank card to buy cigarettes from Tesco.

In November, he stole razors worth £145 from Asda and was arrested again the following month after stealing hundreds of pounds’ worth of clothes from TK Max. On being arrested, he was found with heroin.

He was ultimately charged with a raft of offences including assaulting police officers and hospital staff, resisting a police constable, criminal damage, shop thefts, threatening behaviour, possessing a Class A drug and handling stolen goods.

He admitted all matters and appeared for sentence via video link today after being remanded in custody.

‘Enormous’ criminal record

The court heard that Watson had an “enormous” criminal record for offences including burglary, robbery, carrying knives, racially aggravated criminal damage, assaulting police officers and “beating people up”. All the offences were fuelled by drink and drugs.

His solicitor advocate Graham Parkin said Watson was “completely out of control” at the time of his latest series of offences.

Judge Sean Morris said Watson had behaved “like a brute” towards the doctors and nurses who were “trying to save people’s lives”.

He described his behaviour as “disgracefully violent”.

Watson was handed a 21-month jail sentence, but he won’t be spending too long in prison as he will only have to serve half of that behind bars and he had already served the equivalent of a 14-month sentence on remand.

A person required medical assistance at lunchtime today after an incident at the crossing outside Bettys in Harrogate.

Paramedics covered the injured person in blankets and administered first aid until an ambulance arrived at about 2pm.

The person was lying on the ground near the traffic lights on the opposite side to Bettys.

Traffic on Parliament Street was diverted into a single lane while help was administered.

The Stray Ferret has asked Yorkshire Ambulance Service for further details.

The crossing outside Bettys has been the scene of numerous incidents involving pedestrians and traffic over the years.

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Harrogate’s Christmas ice rink has opened for bookings.

The rink, at Crescent Gardens, will be open every day except Christmas Day from December 1 to January 2.

One-hour sessions can be booked throughout each day, with the final session at 8pm. A website has been set up for bookings.

Tickets cost £14 for adults and £13 for children aged five to 16. Family tickets costing £37.50, £50 and £62.50 are available.

Parent and toddler sessions and relaxed sessions, catering for parents and carers and children with additional support needs, are also on offer.

The ice rink is among the highlights of this year’s Harrogate Christmas Fayre, which will also include a Ferris wheel, carousel and other fairground rides, Candy Cane Express road train, town centre stalls and an artisan market in Valley Gardens.

The fayre is a joint venture between Harrogate Borough Council, Harrogate Business Improvement District and Market Place Europe, which took over the town’s seasonal activities last year after the council refused to grant a licence to Harrogate Christmas Market, a locally-run organisation behind the previous event on Montpellier Hill.

The bookings website says:

“Harrogate ice rink is magical for all ages, great for families, date nights, catch ups with pals, Christmas parties with a twist, skaters, non-skaters, those who want to learn to skate at our skate school or just enjoy one of the most fascinating spectator sports with a drink and bite to eat.”

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North Yorkshire Police is appealing for help finding a Land Rover Discovery, which was stolen from Wormald Green.

Police today released pictures of the grey vehicle, which they say was taken from an address in the village, which is midway between Ripon and Harrogate.

It was stolen at about 11.30pm on Wednesday last week.

A police statement said:

“Please keep your eyes peeled for the car and if you have any info, call 101 quoting ref: 12220186546.”

A police image of the wanted vehicle.

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A working group is being set up to steer the future of Harrogate Convention Centre as the venue approaches a crucial time of change in its 40-year history.

Senior officials and councillors from Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council will come together to discuss the convention centre’s £49 million redevelopment plan and how it could be funded, as well as how the venue should be run in the future.

It has previously been suggested that a limited company could be set up to take over the day-to-day business of the venue which is set to come under the ownership of the new North Yorkshire Council in April.

County council leader Carl Les said this would be one option that is explored by the working group as he also acknowledged there could be risks involved in the £49 million redevelopment plan. he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service:

“We will look at everything connected with the convention centre.”

“I’m sure that there are some risks involved and that is why we want a working group.

“We are very conscious that this has been a Harrogate Borough Council project until now and because it is going to come to us in a short space of time we want to better understand what options there may be going forward.”

Cllr Les’ comments come after the county council’s executive yesterday gave final approval for the spending of £3.3 million of taxpayer’s money on final designs for the redevelopment plan.

Prior to this, more than £1.5 million has already been spent on other design, business case and feasibility works.

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A final decision on the redevelopment plan is expected next summer, but there are lingering questions over how it could be funded after cash for the convention centre was left out of North Yorkshire’s £540 million devolution deal, much to the dismay of local leaders.

A separate bid for £20 million from the government’s levelling up fund has been made for the venue, however, Harrogate is ranked as a low priority area in the fund.

Paula Lorimer

Paula Lorimer, director of Harrogate Convention Centre, said the levelling up funding would be a “game changer” for the venue if awarded later this year as she also thanked the county council for its support in progressing the final designs. She said:

“This is a very important step for us and both parties agree this is something we need to work together on.

“They have listened to everything we have put forward and asked all the right questions, and I’m very much looking forward to working with them.”

The launch of the working group comes as the convention centre is facing a new threat on its doorstep in the form of Leeds City Council’s proposals to build a new conference venue at the site of the former Yorkshire Bank HQ.

Threat from Leeds

A decision on these plans was previously delayed after a wave of objections from Harrogate Convention Centre and the district’s business leaders who fear the plans could drive trade away from Harrogate.

And Ms Lorimer said she is now preparing to make the same objections again when the proposals return to a city council meeting on 3 November.

She said “constructive dialogue” had been held with Leeds officials, but her concerns over the size of the city’s proposed venue and its impact on Harrogate Convention Centre remained unchanged. Ms Lorimer said:

“When we were first spoken to about this venue it was 2,000 square metres – we didn’t object and we told Leeds City Council that. Then suddenly it became 10,000 square metres.

“We continue to seek reassurance that the scheme will go back to the original size, but they are going to push ahead.”

Traffic lights on the A59 York Road near the junction with the A658 in Knaresborough, which have been causing delays this month, are due to remain in place until November 11.

Yorkshire Water has installed four-way traffic lights as it lays a new water main for a housing development.

In Harrogate, roadworks on the notorious Wetherby Road in Harrogate have been causing delays all week.

According to North Yorkshire County Council’s roadworks map, maintenance work will be carried out by Northern Gas Networks until Friday.

The map also indicates a slew of traffic lights this week on nearby Skipton Road, between the Empress roundabout and King’s Road.

In Harrogate town centre, long-term work on Crescent Road means motorists are unable to turn left at the Parliament Street junction. Traffic coming the opposite way on Ripon Road is unable to turn right.

Roadworks on the notorious Wetherby Road in Harrogate have been causing delays all week.

According to North Yorkshire County Council’s roadworks map, maintenance work will be carried out by Northern Gas Networks until Friday.

In Harrogate town centre, long-term work on Crescent Road means motorists are unable to turn left at the Parliament Street junction. Traffic coming the opposite way on Ripon Road is unable to turn right.

Work to reconstruct the landslip-hit B6265 at Red Brae Bank, Bewerley, near Pateley Bridge, is ongoing.

The road is closed and a diversion is in place via Pateley Bridge; the B6451 Dacre; Menwith Hill Road; Duck Street and Greenhow Hill village. Temporary traffic lights will be in place during the remainder of the work.

Trains and buses

Rail operator Northern is not reporting any problems on the line passing through Harrogate and Knaresborough this morning. The live departure and arrival board for Harrogate doesn’t currently show any delays.

The Harrogate Bus Company is not reporting any problems. You can get updates here.

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Autumn covid booster vaccination clinics are only available at Harrogate’s Great Yorkshire Showground for less than a month.

Tim Yarrow, operations manager at Yorkshire Health Network, which is overseeing the vaccination programme, today urged anyone eligible to book now.

Those showground site, which is currently seeing 1,400 patients a day, is due to close on November 23 and there are currently no plans to re-open it.

It means people will have to seek appointments at local pharmacies when the showground site closes.

People aged 50 and over, pregnant women, carers, frontline health and care workers, care home residents and people of all ages who are vulnerable are eligible for a covid booster jab now.

Those who are able to book their vaccinations can do so via the NHS website.

The showground is not accepting walk-in appointments. Access to the site is available by car from the road alongside Sainsbury’s.

The NHS is ramping up its winter vaccination campaign.

Health bosses in Harrogate previously said that they expect to see more covid patients in hospitals in the coming weeks.

Dr Bruce Willoughby, Harrogate GP and part of the Humber and North Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership, said:

“Health and care services in North Yorkshire and York, like everywhere, are already extremely busy. We do expect to see more cases of covid in the coming weeks as people mix freely again and spend more time indoors as the weather gets colder. The risk of catching covid is highest indoors and in crowded places.

“More people are likely to get flu this winter as fewer people will have built up natural immunity to it during the pandemic. The best time to have the flu vaccine is in the autumn or early winter before it starts spreading.”

Health officials are also urging people to book a flu vaccine this winter. People can book their jab via their GP surgery.

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Business Breakfast is sponsored by Harrogate law firm Truth Legal. 

Harrogate-based law firm McCormicks Solicitors has appointed a new practice manager and accounts manager to its team.

Sonia Jones has been promoted to practice manager to reflect her work in supporting all activities across the firm, including management, human resources and the running of day-to-day activities.

Senior partner Peter McCormick said:

“Sonia joined us in 2007 and has become more and more involved in the management of the firm so it was a logical step to reward her for all her hard work with this promotion.”

Hayley Firth has been appointed accounts manager at McCormicks.

Ms Jones also assists with the practice’s charitable work. She became a trustee of the Yorkshire Young Achievers Foundation in 2012, having previously supported the charity as secretary to the trustees, and continues to fulfil both duties.

Hayley Firth has been appointed accounts manager. She will work with accounts assistant Hollie Jackson to ensure the smooth running of the accounts department.

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Harrogate funeral directors hold webinar to help bereaved workers

Harrogate funeral directors, Full Circle, is to hold a webinar with Jo Tindall, and an employment partner at Gunnercooke, to support colleagues after a bereavement.

According to research carries out by Funeral Guide 77% of employees in the UK have experienced a bereavement during their working lives. 54% of bereaved employees would have preferred more time off work or a phased return to the workplace after taking time off.

Ms Tindall will explain the obligations on employers in supporting employees suffering a bereavement and will share the benefits of going beyond those obligations and becoming an employer of choice.

The event entitled Supporting employees after bereavement will be held on November 17.  For information on the webinar click here.

Harrogate’s joint cadet centre has officially reopened following a £750,000 refurbishment of the drill hall.

The centre, on Strawberry Dale, is home to both the town’s army and air cadets and also houses the region’s first virtual reality aviation centre for cadets.

The Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’ Association for Yorkshire and the Humber hosted the official opening by Jo Ropner, the lord-lieutenant of North Yorkshire.

Ms Ropner unveiled the commemorative plaque with representatives of the town’s army and air cadets looking on.

Thursday’s opening was also attended by Harrogate borough mayor Victoria Oldham.

Mayor of Harrogate Victoria Oldham with the RFCA chairman and chief executive.

The funding was provided predominantly by the RAF, with support from the Yorkshire Cadet Trust and the Royal Flying Corps.

RFCA chief executive Jason Wright said:

“The refurbishment of Harrogate joint cadet centre has transformed the experience of the 100 or so local cadets who parade here every week.

“It’s created bright, attractive classrooms, offices for our adult volunteers, a wonderful drill hall and has even made room for Yorkshire’s first virtual reality training centre.

Mr Wright said 28 other cadet squadrons also used the virtual reality training centre.

Mr Wright added:

“We couldn’t be more delighted that the benefits this new development is already bringing to young people in the town and we are delighted that His Majesty’s lord-lieutenant in addition to Harrogate’s mayor have been able to join us for its official opening.”

Harrogate’s bodybuilding barber David Steca has won another national title.

Mr Steca, 63, finished first in the over-60s category at the IBFA British Championships in Gateshead last weekend.

It is the latest success in a remarkable career that has seen him become one of the most successful bodybuilders in the north of England.

Mr Steca, who owns Steca No6 in Harrogate, is now focusing on the NAC British Championships in Middleton, Greater Manchester on November 13. Success there would earn him a place at next year’s World Championships.

He weighed a peeled 84kg in his latest appearance on stage, and insists he is too young to quit.

David Steca (centre) takes first place.

He said:

“It’s never unachievable and you’re never too old!”

Besides being a competitor, Mr Steca is also a personal trainer who has helped numerous aspiring physique competitors in the Harrogate district.

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