St John's House, in Palgrave

URGENT questions were last night being asked why three dangerous criminals – including a convicted killer – were being looked after at a “medium secure” hospital in a Suffolk village, from where they later escaped.

Luke Sparks, who has still not been recaptured

One of the men, Luke Sparks, who had been detained indefinitely under the Mental Health Act for a “frenzied and ferocious” attack on a taxi driver, was still on the run last night from St John’s House, in Palgrave, near Diss.

Community leaders called for tighter security and asked why Sparks, and two other men who absconded from the unit but were later recaptured, were there in the first place. It also emerged the two recaptured men were still being looked after at St John’s.

Suffolk MP Dan Poulter questioned whether the hospital was safe enough to hold violent offenders, while locals reacted with concern at news of the escapes, which happened at the weekend.

Meanwhile, independent regulator the Care Quality Commission (CQC) awaits a full report into the incident and could decide to carry out its own inspection of the home, about which it raised concerns regarding staff shortages earlier this year.

Partnerships in Care, which runs the hospital, declined interview requests yesterday but said it took matters of patient, staff and public safety “extremely seriously”.

Twenty-one-year-old Sparks broke out at 1am on Sunday along with two others – 22-year-old Ross Beeby and Jason Williams, 21 – by forcing his way out of the secure facility in Lion Road, leaving a male nurse with a minor head injury.

He was sectioned indefinitely for an “unprovoked, frenzied and ferocious attack” on a Taunton taxi driver, while on bail for an assault on a carer, in September 2008.

Beeby, who along with Williams, was detained after being spotted cycling down the A140 towards Diss by an off-duty St John’s House staff member, was jailed for 12 years for his part in a “sickening” assault filmed on a phone, which left a man paralysed and blind in one eye.

A spokeswoman for Partnerships in Care said: “We take all matters of patient, staff and public safety extremely seriously and continue to work closely with the police and other authorities to help locate the third patient. We are undertaking a comprehensive investigation into this incident.”

She confirmed Beeby and Williams were still being cared for at St John’s after their recapture.

Central Suffolk MP Dr Dan Poulter, whose constituency includes Palgrave, said he would be asking questions about the security of St John’s House and whether violent criminals should be sent there. “My view is that violent offenders should be held in large, high-security facilities or prisons whilst they are on remand or have been sentenced,” he added.

“Is it appropriate to hold them in a rural location and from where they are easily able to break out?

“There are a lot of questions that need to be investigated further. I don’t think it is appropriate for violent offenders to be held in places such as this, where the police are unable to respond effectively and quickly if there is a problem.”

Charles Michell, the county councillor for the area, said: “This is a very serious matter. Security at the hospital must be improved to ensure it cannot happen again.

“I hope the system can be strengthened in the future, both in prevention and liaison between the hospital, the police and the media. It is not tight enough at present.”

Lorna Trudgill, who runs a florist just outside the village, said: “I don’t know much about the security but I have never heard of any escapes until now. I obviously took notice when I saw the news. It is a bit concerning.”

A CQC spokesman said it had been informed of the incident by the hospital, which has 72 hours to give formal notification

In a compliance review of July this year, the CQC raised minor concerns about the hospital’s ability to treat people detained under the Mental Health Act because periodic staff shortages could result in needs not being met. The spokesman continued: “We had minor concerns about staff shortages in our report but had been happy with the progress the hospital was making.”

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said Sparks and Williams had been specifically sent to St John’s by order from the courts while Beeby was transferred from a prison by the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) following a full risk assessment.

LUKE Sparks was detained indefinitely under the Mental Health Act after he launched an “unprovoked, frenzied and ferocious attack” on a Taunton taxi driver on September 17, 2008.

Sunday’s escape was the second time the 21-year-old had escaped from a mental health hospital.

In December 2009 Taunton Crown Court order Sparks, then aged 19, to remain in hospital after hearing he slashed the hands of 58-year-old cabbie Patrick Wadham and threatened to kill him.

Sparks attacked Mr Wadham after pulling on the handbrake of his car. Mr Wadham tried to escape on three occasions, before Sparks stole his money and the taxi.

Sparks was later stopped by police and taken for treatment at Taunton’s Musgrove Park Hospital, where he attempted to escape from his police guard.

The court heard Sparks, who was on police bail at the time for an assault on a carer in Bristol, had “severe mental disabilities” and an IQ of 60.

Sentencing, Sparks - who pleaded guilty to robbery and escaping from custody - Judge Graham Hume Jones, said: “The problems this young man is suffering require considerable medical help.

“If I sent him to prison I would be putting him at risk as well as the other prisoners and staff.”

MOMENTS before Ross Beeby jumped on the head of 40-year-old homeless man, the teenager grinned into a mobile phone camera.

Paul Vickers, 40, was left paralysed and blind in his right eye after being beaten with a metal wheel brace and having his head stamped on as he slept by 19-year-old Beeby and three other young men.

Beeby, now 22, of Bognor, West Sussex, was jailed at the Old Bailey in June 2008, for 12 years.

Mr Vickers was attacked early on July 24, 2007, as he slept in a bus shelter in Fishbourne, near Chichester, West Sussex.

The four attackers took a mobile phone photograph of Mr Vickers before abandoning him.

His life was only saved by the intervention of passers-by and emergency services.

Mr Vickers underwent a six-hour operation following the attack, which left him with multiple skull fractures and needing a plate in his head.

The Old Bailey heard Mr Vickers would need care for some considerable time.

JASON Williams was convicted of manslaughter in October 2008, while three accomplices were jailed for life for the murder of a father-of-three.

Shaun Godfrey was died in December 2007 after being shot in the heart by a bullet from a .22 calibre bolt-action rifle in Hartcliffe, Bristol.

Williams, who was aged 18 when found guilty at Bristol Crown Court, was ordered to be detained indefinitely in a secure hospital.

Williams, now 21, of Hartcliffe, has learning disabilities and was not present throughout the trial as he was being cared for at a medium secure hospital unit in Norfolk.

Nathan Sargent, 24, of Bedminster, Bristol, and Michael Hodge, 20, of Hartcliffe, were ordered to serve a minimum of 24 years for the shooting.

Mark Starr, 20, whose address was withheld by a court order, was order to service a minimum of 20 years.

Starr, Hodge and Williams were involved in an altercation with Mr Godfrey at a pub, and told Sargent about their plan to beat him up.

Sargent brought the rifle and ambushed Mr Godfrey in the street.