Secure hospital has housed most notorious killers
ASECURE hospital In Merseyside has housed some of the countries most chilling figures. Tucked neatly between family houses and playing fields sits Ashworth hospital in Maghull is home to some of the UK’s most notorious killers.
It is one of only three high-security psychiatric hospitals in England.
Many of the hospital’s patients are deemed to be a danger to themselves and those around them having committed some of the most infamous murders in the UK. Here is a list of the most notorious patients who have spent time and even died behind the walls of Ashworth hospital:
● Ian Brady: One of the UK’s most infamous serial killers who carried out his horrendous crimes with his then-girlfriend Myra Hindley. The pair known as the “Moors Murderers” killed five children between 1963 to 1965.
Brady was first sent to the Ashworth in 1985 after being diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, suffering delusions, and hallucinations. He later confessed to two more killings while at Ashworth and was declared criminally insane, spending the rest of his life at the hospital until his death in 2017.
The location of his remains has not been disclosed to the public. A psychiatric nurse who dealt with Brady claimed that he was an exceptionally difficult patient to deal with and that he had “no interest” in being rehabilitated.
● Mark Corner: Corner was detained indefinitely at Ashworth in 2003 for two killings that rocked north Liverpool. The remains of sex workers Pauline Stephen and Hanane Parry were found in a bin bag dumped in an Everton alleyway.
The discovery sparked a massive police search for the killer, which led to Mark Corner’s flat. He was later arrested at his parent’s Walton home.
Corner pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Hanane Parry and Pauline Stephen on the grounds of diminished responsibility at Liverpool Crown Court in October 2003 and was sent straight to Ashworth.
● Charles “Salvador” Bronson: Charles Salvador formerly known as Charles Bronson has gained a reputation for being one of the country’s most violent prisoners. At Broadgreen, in 1982, Bronson performed his first rooftop protest, days later performing another and in total causing £250,000 worth of damage.
His third roof protest was in 1984 was followed by an 18-day-long hunger strike, After which he was transferred to Ashworth Hospital, where another three years were added to his sentence when he attacked a patient.
In 1985 he was sent to Walton Prison but quickly broke the rules again, causing £100,000 worth of damage after another rooftop protest. His life was immortalised in the film “Bronson” with Tom Hardy.
● Dale Cregan: Convicted for the cold-blooded murders of PCs Fiona Bone and Nicola Hughes on September 18, 2012. Cregan was on the run at the time for the gangland murders of Mark Short and his dad David Short.
Cregan lured the police officers to a home in Mottram, Greater Manchester after a hoax 999 call. After arriving at the house the officers came under attack with 32 gunshots being fired from a Glock pistol and a hand grenade also being used.
He was moved to Ashworth in 2015 after being judged to be mentally ill following a psychological assessment. He was then relocated to HMP Full Sutton but returned to Ashworth in 2020 during a highsecurity operation.
● Barry Williams aka Harry Street: Spree killer Harry Street formerly known as Barry Williams gunned down eight people in West Bromwich and Nuneaton in 1978 killing five. In 1979 he was convicted of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
He was held at Broadmoor and Ashworth Hospital until his release in 1994 after being deemed to no longer be a risk to the public. He then moved to Birmingham where he married and even had a child in 1997.
However, in 2013 allegations arose that he had waged a campaign of harassment against his next-door neighbour. After police searched his home he was found to be in possession of an improvised bomb, 50 homemade bullets, a revolver, and two pistols
Street returned to Ashworth hospital where he remained until his death after a sudden heart attack at the age of 70 in 2014.