A support worker has categorically denied ill-treating two patients at a specialist hospital for vulnerable people following an undercover BBC investigation.

Undercover reporter Olivia Davies surreptitiously recorded hundreds of hours of footage while working in the care unit near Barnard Castle.

Sarah Banner was charged with three offences following the Panorama documentary being aired.

The 33-year-old, who is one of nine former staff members at Whorlton Hall on trial for abusing patients, told jurors that she suffered a number of injuries during her time working at the unit where patients ‘regularly’ attacked staff.

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Banner, whose husband Matthew is also facing charges, said one attack resulted in her taking time off work after suffering a trigeminal neuralgia attack.

The Northern Echo: Sarah BannerSarah Banner (Image: The Northern Echo)

Her legal counsel, Jonathan Walker asked Banner: “Did you cruelly ill-treat these patients?” She simply replied: “No.”

When asked whether she encouraged one distressed patient to ‘continue to hit herself’ Banner said she was actually using reverse psychology and humour to try and distract the woman by saying ‘carry on, enjoy’.

She said: “It clearly works in that incident as she stops. It had worked in the past as well on one occasion.”

Jurors watch the distressing footage of the patient screaming and behaving in a very agitated state while she was in a ‘heightened state’.

The defendant told jurors that she put on a ‘bite jacket’ to protect herself as the patient had history for attacking staff.

All nine defendants deny the charges against them.

One of the charges against a nurse, Karen McGhee, accused of abusing patients in a specialist hospital unit has been thrown out after a judge ruled there was no chance of a conviction.

The Northern Echo: Whorlton HallWhorlton Hall

The defendants now face a total of 26 offences after the reporter used a hidden camera at the 17-bed independent unit for people with complex needs in January and February 2019.

The accused are:

• John Sanderson, 25, of Cambridge Avenue, Willington, faces two charges of care worker ill-treatment or wilful neglect of an individual on February 2 and 25, 2019.

• Darren Mark Lawton, 47, of Miners Crescent, Darlington, by virtue of being a care worker, allegedly ill-treated or wilfully neglected a patient on January 27, 2019, and faces the same charge relating to a different patient on February 2.

• Niall Mellor, 26, of Lingmell Dene, Coundon, Bishop Auckland, is accused of the ill-treatment or wilful neglect of a patient on two occasions on January 20 and 24, 2019.

• Sarah Banner, 33, from Faulkner Road, Newton Aycliffe, stands accused of three charges of ill-treatment or neglect of a female in her care on January 24 and of a male patient the following day.

• Matthew Banner, 43, of the same Newton Aycliffe address, faced six charges all relating to the same patient at Whorlton Hall on separate occasions between January 6 and February 22.

• Ryan Fuller, 27, from of Deerbolt Bank, Barnard Castle, faced ten charges of ill-treatment or wilful neglect against six different patients January 19 and February 2.

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• Sabah Mahmood, 27, of Woodland Crescent, Kelloe, is accused of, by virtue of being a care worker, ill-treating or wilfully neglecting a male patient on January 4, 2019.

• Peter Bennett, 53, of Redworth Road, Billingham, faced three charges in total relating to two female patients, on January 6 and February 24.

• Karen McGhee, 54, from Wildair Close, Darlington, faced a total of four charges relating to a male and a female patient which were all said to have happened in January 2019.

The trial at Teesside Crown Court continues.