A Bradford girl was collected from school by a notorious serial child molester allowed out of Ashworth Hospital on a day trip, it has been revealed.

The girl now aged nine - named as Child A in the damning Fallon Report into the breakdown of order at the high-security hospital - was met at the gates of her Bradford first school by depraved paedophile Peter Hemming, the report says.

Hemming, sentenced to stay indefinitely at Ashworth after a series of sickening offences against young children, is known to have made seven visits to Bradford on day trips.

It was allowed to happen, according to the report compiled by former judge Peter Fallon QC, because responsibility for arranging Leave Of Absence visits from Ashworth was delegated to junior nurse James Corrigan - who, the report says, was later dismissed for gross misconduct.

Hemming had three separate convictions for paedophile activity. He had forced girls as young as nine into degrading sex acts and had a string of convictions relating to eight separate youngsters, aged seven to 12.

The report says: "Mr Hemming visited the Bradford area on seven occasions between September 1993 and April 1996, latterly escorted by nurse James Corrigan.

"On one occasion he visited Child A's father's house. There is evidence that Nurse Corrigan visited pubs with Child A and her father. On one occasion, it appears Mr Hemming picked up Child A from school."

The report explains how on another occasion the girl was photographed lying on the bed at her father's home. The photographs were later found in Hemming's room at the hospital.

The friendship between Child A and Hemming, and also between her and another Ashworth patient, Paul Corrigan, was actively encouraged by her father - himself a convicted sex offender.

There is no evidence that she suffered sexual abuse from any of the patients, or her father.

But police officers and the inquiry team believe the youngster was being "groomed" for paedophile activity in the future.

She learned to regard Paul Corrigan - who had tortured, sexually abused and killed a 13-year-old paperboy- as her "godfather" and told school teachers of her visits "to see her godfather in hospital".

Senior Bradford Social Services officers are understood to be furious that someone as junior as a nurse was able to authorise day trips for Ashworth patients.

They are astonished that such visits could be made to private households where there were children present - without any reference to local social workers.

One of the Fallon Report's recommendations is to close this loophole.

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