A CARE home boss accused of taping a vulnerable resident to an office chair has been cleared of all charges against her.

Alison Standing, deputy manager and later acting manager, of the Briar Court Nursing Home in Hartlepool, was said to have restrained the man when she was in the mood for 'horseplay'.

But it emerged during the hearing that the man, known as 'Resident A', had a history of making up allegations against staff.

The care home boss had also been accused of allowing her teenage daughters into the home and into his bedroom unsupervised, and allowing them to take him out of the home by themselves.

The allegations were said to have taken place at the home, which is a facility for adults with learning disabilities, between 2007 and 2012.

Resident A made the claims against Ms Standing during an investigation that began after she had referred some of her colleagues to the Nursing and Midwifery Council for alleged misconduct.

The panel heard evidence that staff members' relatives often visited the home, and that he had only visited her home as part of a group with other members of staff present.

The panel decided that this was not 'inappropriate' as alleged in the charges.

The resident, now in his late 30s, had lived for two periods at Briar Court – the first between 2001 and 2004, and the second from 2008 to 2013.

The nurse said she had once witnessed him taped up in game with a member of staff, but it was during his first stay at the home and that she had filled out an incident form at the time.

The panel found this charge not proved, because Resident A continued to add new details to his story, including mentioning another participant.

Panel secretary Joy Julien said: “The panel accepts that you did not engage in horseplay in the home, and that you would pull staff up and reprimand them for this behaviour.”

The cleared nurse smiled and thanked the panel when she heard their decision.