'More victims in NHS child abuse probe' - police

Warning - this story contains distressing content and references to alleged child abuse

Police investigating historical child abuse at two former NHS mental health units in West Sussex say they have spoken to 12 alleged victims – and believe there are more.

One former patient, aged nine at the time, says he was repeatedly sexually assaulted by a member of staff at Larchwood and Colwood in Haywards Heath.

Christopher – not his real name – said the first alleged attack happened in the late 1970s after the staff member lured him outside to pick flowers for his mum.

He said he has vivid memories of being raped in the woods. "That was the daffodil day – it's always stuck with me," he said.

Sussex Police said its investigation centred on allegations made by former patients at the two NHS facilities during the 1970s,1980s and 1990s – both units had closed by the early 2000s.

Larchwood and Colwood units provided in-patient therapy and education for vulnerable children who were neurodiverse or living with mental health conditions.

Larchwood cared for younger children, while adolescents stayed at Colwood.

They were located on the same site as the former St Francis Hospital and the current Princess Royal Hospital.

Christopher said he was sent to Larchwood by his parents in the late 1970s after he became disruptive at home, stopped going to school and tried to take his own life.

In an exclusive interview with the BBC, he described allegedly being repeatedly raped and sexually assaulted at the hands of a male member of staff.

"[The member of staff] said to me 'your mum's coming tonight, do you want to get some daffodils? I know where you can get the biggest best daffodils and you can surprise your mum with them'.

"I said 'yeah it would be lovely to do that'. We went to the woods, picked my daffodils and everything.

"At the bottom of the mound, there was a raised mound, he laid me down there.

Christopher then has vivid memories of allegedly being raped.

"And then I was crying, saying please stop, please stop, you're hurting me - really so painful, nothing I've experienced like that. Just fear.

"I just left the flowers there, the ones I never gave to my mum. That was the daffodil day, that's always stuck with me."

Christopher claims he was subject to subsequent sexual assaults by the same staff member.

"He just knew the system," he said.

"He was confident he wasn't going to get asked, knew he wasn't going to get caught."

The BBC has spoken to others who claim they were child patients at either Larchwood or Colwood between the 1970s and 1990s and allege they were sexually assaulted by staff.

Linda, not her real name, was a nurse at Colwood in the late 1990s.

She described a place of sub-standard care, neglect and physical abuse.

"There was a really poorly girl who was really psychotic who was just standing outside in a really bad way waiting for me to get there to help her," she said.

"We kept saying this isn't ok, but nothing ever changed."

Linda also described an incident in which a member of staff allegedly assaulted a young patient.

"He just picked her up. He was strong and she was just very frail, underweight - he just picked her up and threw her a good two metres across the room."

Sussex Police said several potential suspects have been identified, none of whom are believed to be currently working in positions of trust or pose any ongoing risk to the public.

The force said two men in their 60s and 70s had been interviewed, but "no arrests have been made at this stage".

Det Insp Cheryl Lewendon said the force had spoken to 12 victims, but suspected there were more.

"There are a lot of people we're still trying to identify," she said.

"We want to speak to as many people who were present during those times that would have some information that would help us try and identify those suspects in terms of allegations that have been made.

"The passage of time shouldn't prevent us from getting justice for those victims," she added.

The force also addressed claims it had not properly investigated allegations of abuse at Larchwood and Colwood when they were first made to them in the 1990s and 2000s.

Det Insp Lewendon said, "We didn't do the right thing back then, allegations were made and investigated in silo.

"We've come a long way since then - we recognise the importance of looking at things in a much wider context."

Larchwood and Colwood were run by NHS organisations which pre-date the current NHS Trust.

A spokesperson for Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, which now runs child and adolescent mental health services in the county, said it was supporting the police investigation regarding allegations of sexual abuse and neglect.

They added: "We acknowledge how difficult it must be for people to come forward to share their experiences of abuse and our thoughts are with them.

"We would encourage anyone who has experienced any form of abuse, no matter how long ago, to contact Sussex Police.

"We are unable to comment any more fully at this stage, while the police investigation is ongoing."

Sussex Police launched a public appeal for information in June.

Christopher, and other alleged victims, have called for a formal apology from the NHS.

• If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this story, information and support can be found at the BBC's Action Line website.