An arthritis patient has been forced to wait 13 months in pain for an operation cancelled three times by a Bradford hospital.

Osteo-arthritis sufferer Peter Gregory has twice been told at the last minute that the operation on his hip could not go ahead after he was admitted to Bradford Royal Infirmary.

Last month it was scrapped because of a lack of beds and this week his latest appointment was postponed because doctors could not find the equipment they needed.

The 47-year-old father-of-two, of Cooper Lane, Shelf, was given an appointment for an exploratory operation more than a year ago but he is still waiting for the treatment today.

He needs the operation to allow doctors to see if they can find ways of alleviating his pain in his left hip.

The operation was originally supposed to take place at Bradford Royal Infirmary on December 4 last year but was cancelled 24 hours beforehand.

Mr Gregory said: "The operation is an exploratory one with a camera to see what can be done. I have already had one hip replaced and I know that this one needs replacing too really.

"The first time they phoned me the day before to say the operation could not go ahead because they had a lot of trauma patients in the hospital, which I can understand."

"I was given another appointment for February 2 this year. I went into hospital at 7.30am but I was told there was a shortage of beds.

"They then found me one on their eye, nose and ear ward and I stayed all morning. But then I was told it could not go ahead because this was a bed for day cases only."

Mr Gregory was sent home despite spending several hours in the hospital waiting for the operation to go ahead.

Two days ago the operation was cancelled again after Mr Gregory was admitted to the hospital - this time because the equipment needed could not be found.

"I asked them if they were joking," he said. "I couldn't believe it. They said a rep had taken it.

"The nurses told me to wait for the doctor but I stormed out. I got as far as the main entrance but then decided to go back and speak to the doctor.

"I am in discomfort all the time and my hip keeps popping out of joint so I have to wiggle it back in.

"You psyche yourself up for the operation, go without food the night before and don't get much sleep because you are worked up. Then it is cancelled."

The Telegraph & Argus understands that the equipment needed for the operation had been taken by a manufacturer who was showing it to other people in the NHS.

A spokesman for Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Bradford Royal Infirmary, said: "We have apologised to Mr Gregory for the unfortunate and exceptional set of circumstances which have led to his operation being postponed on three occasions, and assured him it will not happen again.

"In our efforts to drive down waiting times and waiting lists, we do everything we can to ensure that operations are not postponed as we recognise the distress and inconvenience that this can cause. We have been in touch with Mr Gregory to rearrange a mutually-agreeable date for his operation and we are pleased that this will now take place in the next two weeks."