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A nurse and a healthcare worker have been found guilty of unlawfully drugging patients – amid allegations they did so for their own amusement and an easy life.

Catherine Hudson, 54, and Charlotte Wilmot, 48, ill-treated those in their care on a stroke unit at Blackpool Victoria Hospital in Lancashire between February 2017 and November 2018, Preston Crown Court heard.

Hudson was found guilty of ill-treating three patients. Both women were found guilty of conspiracy to ill treat a patient by administering sedatives.

They faced a total of nine counts concerning five patients, with Hudson found not guilty of three counts.

Wilmot was also found guilty of encouraging Hudson to sedate a patient while Hudson was found guilty of theft of the drug Mebeverine, used to treat irritable bowel syndrome.

A police investigation was launched after a student nurse on a work placement told authorities she saw Hudson give unprescribed Zopiclone, a sleeping pill said to be potentially life threatening if given inappropriately, to a patient in November 2018.

Charlotte Wilmot and Catherine Hudson
Image:
Charlotte Wilmot (left) and Catherine Hudson

Prosecutors said messages exchanged between Hudson, an experienced Band 5 registered nurse, and Wilmot, a Band 4 assistant practitioner, revealed a “culture of abuse”.

Both women will be sentenced at a later date. Hudson was remanded into custody while Wilmot is set to be granted bail.

The verdicts were reached after nearly 14 hours of deliberation.

Prosecutor Peter Wright told the jury the healthcare workers treated patients with “contempt” rather than “care and compassion”.

“They considered them, or some of them, to be an imposition, an irritation,” he said.

“Patients were ill-treated. They were sedated either for the amusement of these defendants or simply to keep them quiet and to make their life easier, and their work less onerous or arduous.

“The risks to the patients were obvious, but we say they didn’t care.

“They thought it was amusing. It was something which they would brag about or share as a joke on social media and with other members of staff who shared their particular brand of humour.”

He said WhatsApp messages sent between the pair were uncovered after a probe was launched into alleged misconduct at the hospital.

In one exchange about an elderly male patient, Hudson wrote: “I’m going to kill bed 5 xxx.”

WhatsApp messages uncovered during a probe
Image:
WhatsApp messages uncovered during a probe

Wilmot replied: “Pmsl (p***ing myself laughing) well tonight sedate him to high heaven lol xxx.”

Hudson said: “Already in my head to give him double !!”

The next evening Hudson messaged Wilmot: “If bed 5 starts he will b getting sedated to hell pmsfl. I’ll get u the abx (anti-biotic) xxx”.

Jurors were told Hudson also bragged about sedating another female patient, who was profoundly brain damaged, to a healthcare assistant when she wrote: “I sedated on(e) of them to within an inch of her life lol. Bet she’s flat for a week haha xxx.”

On the following day she asked Wilmot about the same patient, writing: “What’s bed 29 been doing today pmsfl. Not a f***ing lot I bet!! Seeing as I sedated her on sat and sun lol lol xxx.”

Wilmot replied: “Yeahhhh I knew it, everything you gave her has started working today!!!! made for a nice day though, it ain’t been bad lol. Xxx.”

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Hudson responded: “She was driving me mad , so it was pxd (prescribed) and had to b done lol . She needed the rest xxx.”

Mother-of-three Hudson denied inappropriately giving any drugs and said the text conversations were “just banter” to relieve the stresses of the job.

She told jurors the unit was understaffed to a “completely dangerous level” for years and that medication was “scattered around” and freely available.

Hudson said the “whole ward was corrupt” and that “95% of the staff” would take medication from the unit. Some would use them on duty and “regrettably” she eventually stole drugs, she said.

Wilmot, who was dismissed by her employers in 2020, said she had not been qualified to administer medications, had never given sleeping tablets to patients for an “easy life” or witnessed anyone else doing so.

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IT issue affects flights at Edinburgh Airport

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IT issue affects flights at Edinburgh Airport

All flights were halted at Edinburgh Airport this morning due to an IT issue affecting its air traffic control provider.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the airport later announced service had resumed.

Its post read: “Flights have now resumed following the IT issue with our air traffic provider.

“We thank passengers for their patience and understanding.”

But passengers continue to feel the effects.

A Delta Air Lines flight from New York to Edinburgh was diverted to Dublin after going into a holding pattern over the Scottish capital.

And a live arrivals board on the airport’s website showed multiple flights diverted, delayed and cancelled.

Arrivals board at Edinburgh Airport. Pic: Edinburgh Airport
Image:
Arrivals board at Edinburgh Airport. Pic: Edinburgh Airport

Morven McCall and Cody Stevenson, both 19, were due to fly easyJet from Edinburgh to Amsterdam on their first trip away together.

Morven told Sky News: “We literally just got into the airport and as soon as we walked through the door there was an announcement that it had been cancelled.

“I was ill over the summer and had to cancel two holidays already, this was our first time going away together. We are just gutted and stressed.”

Follow live: Latest updates as flights halted

Arrivals at Edinburgh Airport. File pic: PA
Image:
Arrivals at Edinburgh Airport. File pic: PA

One passenger was on a plane when they found out.

They said: “We boarded our flight and pushed back on time for an 8.45 (am) departure, then sat for a while before the pilot told us what was happening.

“He updated us a couple of times, cabin crew are brilliant at handing out water etc, and I’m surprised that everyone appears to be upbeat. But then you do wonder how long for, just been told we’re hoping to be in the air in 20 minutes.”

Another passenger told us: “The first news was from the airport announcement as we were halfway through boarding, saying the airfield was closed due to air traffic control down.

“No one knew what was going on. We’d already been delayed a bit before boarding, with no reason. I suspect problems started about 9am.”

It comes after an earlier announcement that all flights had been halted.

“No flights are currently operating from Edinburgh Airport,” the previous statement said.

“Teams are working on the issue and will resolve as soon as possible.”

There was no timeframe for recovery initially, Sky News learned.

It’s understood by PA that the issue was not linked to today’s Cloudflare outage.

Edinburgh Trams also posted on X, writing: “If you’re travelling with us to @EDI_Airport this morning, please be aware that flights are not currently operating.”

The airport urged passengers to contact their airline for the latest information on flights.

An average of 43,000 passengers per day use the airport, which is served by 37 airlines flying to 155 destinations.

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Teenager fatally hit by car on motorway had been tasered by police, watchdog says

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Teenager fatally hit by car on motorway had been tasered by police, watchdog says

The police watchdog says it is investigating after a teenager who was tasered by an officer on a motorway was fatally hit by a car.

Logan Smith, 18, was being taken to hospital in an ambulance at about 11pm on Sunday when the vehicle stopped on the hard shoulder of the M5 in Somerset.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said the vehicle stopped on the northbound carriageway “due to the concerns of ambulance staff”.

Mr Smith got out of the ambulance near the junction for Weston-super-Mare and “entered the live lanes of the motorway”, the watchdog added.

Police were called and an officer arrived at the scene, with bodycam footage showing the officer discharging their Taser, causing the teenager to fall to the ground.

“Soon afterwards” Mr Smith was struck by a car travelling on the southbound carriageway, the IOPC said.

The watchdog said it was investigating the “actions and decisions taken by Avon and Somerset Police prior to the death of a teenager”.

IOPC Director Derrick Campbell said: “My thoughts and sympathies are with Logan’s family and friends and everyone affected by this shocking and tragic incident. 

“We want to reassure everyone that we will independently investigate all the circumstances surrounding this incident, including the use of a Taser.

“After being notified by the force, we sent our investigators to the police post incident procedure to begin gathering evidence.

“We have taken initial accounts from the officer and ambulance staff involved.

“We met with Logan’s family on Tuesday, to give our condolences, explain our role and to provide some further detail about our investigation, including a Taser being discharged during the incident.

“We will continue to keep them updated and they request that their privacy be respected at such a difficult time.”

The coroner has been informed and formal identification and a post-mortem have taken place.

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Former doctor charged over alleged sexual assaults on 38 patients

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Former doctor charged over alleged sexual assaults on 38 patients

A former doctor has been charged over alleged sexual assaults on 38 patients in his care.

Nathaniel Spencer, 38, has been charged with 15 counts of sexual assault, 17 counts of assault by penetration, nine counts of sexual assault of a child under 13, three counts of assault a child under 13 by penetration and one count of attempted assault by penetration.

It follows a police investigation into alleged sexual offences between 2017 and 2021.

Staffordshire Police said in a statement the charges come after a complex investigation by the Public Protection Unit into sexual offences at the Royal Stoke University Hospital, in Stoke-on-Trent, and Russells Hall Hospital, in Dudley.

North Staffordshire Justice Centre
Image:
North Staffordshire Justice Centre

Ben Samples, deputy chief crown prosecutor for the West Midlands CPS Complex Casework Unit and Serious Violence, Organised Crime and Exploitation Unit, said: “We have decided to prosecute Nathaniel Spencer for a number of serious sexual offences allegedly carried out against patients while he was working as a doctor – including assault by penetration and sexual assault against a child.

“Our prosecutors have worked at length to support a detailed and complex investigation by Staffordshire Police, carefully reviewing the available evidence to establish that there is sufficient evidence to bring the case to trial and that it is in the public interest to pursue criminal proceedings.”

Spencer, from Birmingham, will appear at North Staffordshire Justice Centre on 20 January 2026.

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