IN an eerie rural village walled in by beautiful country fields, spooked residents lock their doors at the first blare of warning sirens, while “not even the birds sing”.
That’s because this creepy community exists in the dark shadow of one of the UK’s most notorious – and troubled – high-security psychiatric hospitals, whose grim alumni include Charles Bronson, cannibal killer Peter Bryan, and Soham child murderer Ian Huntley.
This sleepy rural village lies in the shadow of one of the UK’s most notorious psychiatric institutions[/caption]
Just doors down from residents’ homes, the institution’s fences are visible[/caption]
Since in 1912, the village of Woodbeck in rural Nottinghamshire has existed cheek by jowl alongside Rampton mental health hospital – one of three such high-security institutions in the UK holding patients with dangerous, violent or criminal tendencies.
Despairing residents – many of whom have worked in the facility themselves – claim their house prices are stuck in a rut thanks to the prospect of living doors down from deadly criminals.
Others, in light of a recent damning watchdog report, reserve their biggest fears for the overworked staff at Rampton itself.
One former nurse, who wished to remain anonymous, told The Sun: “It’s a dangerous s**thole. It’s understaffed and morale is horrific.”
They added: “I would say a staff member is going to get killed.”
Around 400 patients, who have been detained under the Mental Health Act 1983, are currently housed at the site.
Originally opened as an “overspill” for Broadmoor Asylum, it covers 190 acres and consists of 14 high-security main ward blocks and 14 secure “villas”.
One villager, who has lived there for 20 years, described the procedures in place for locals in case any of the inmates ever managed to escape.
“If anyone got out, they’d be going somewhere,” they eerily told a local paper. “There’s a warning system and it’d be common sense to lock your doors if that ever happens.”
Fellow resident Julie Edwards added: “We get fire engines going by because of the nature of who’s in there, but you just expect that of an evening.”
In recent years, Woodbeck has been voted the worst place in Nottinghamshire for community wellbeing.
The lack of shops, buses or a school mean many residents feel “stuck” there, and they say it has become “more cut off” over the years as facilities have been stripped bare.
Soham murderer Ian Huntley was initially held at the facility[/caption]
Killer nurse Beverley Allitt, with baby Katie Phillips whom she later murdered, was also housed there[/caption]
Rampton also housed cannibal killer Peter Bryan who committed three gruesome murders between 1993 and 2004[/caption]
The average house price in Woodbeck is £150,000, far lower than the £269,000 seen across the UK.
During The Sun’s visit, one woman who was interested in purchasing a home there said she and her partner knew it faced the hospital, but had decided to take a look anyway, tempted by the price.
However, the woman, who asked not to be named, said: “It’s the creepiest place I’ve ever been and I’m not coming back.
“There’s something really spooky about it and I don’t feel comfortable here at all.
“It’s a good price and it’s quite spacious but it feels quite surreal. I can’t even hear the birds sing.”
The eerie fences of Rampton Mental Hospital[/caption]
Barry Woolley, a former hospital employee, remembers fonder days[/caption]
Many locals can’t shake the eerie feeling[/caption]
A creepy play park lies deserted[/caption]
Local mechanic Mark Smith told a local news outlet he fears that living so close to the secure hospital “does deduct the value of houses”, and described how congested it can get with Rampton workers during the week.
One resident explained the houses used to be all owned by the hospital itself, but are now privately owned or rented, with many staff buying them “on the cheap”.
Local Michael Warriner, meanwhile, said many people who move to the village to work at the hospital don’t generally stay long.
“It’s just something to secure their CV and they don’t really take pride in the area,” he said.
‘Anxious, isolated and unsafe’
The hospital hit the headlines in May after a healthcare watchdog stated that the facility requires “urgent improvement,” following its rating of “inadequate” in January 2024.
The Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS trust that runs it was being probed over the care of Nottingham killer Valdo Calocane, the paranoid schizophrenic who fatally stabbed three people in 2023.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) report said that between March 2024 and February 2025, staff submitted 777 incident forms where the reasons stated were “clinically unsafe staffing”.
The Sun spoke to a former nurse team leader who worked there for 11 years and still lives in Woodbeck, which was once filled with NHS workers.
The man, who wished to remain anonymous, claimed there is a culture of micromanagement and backstabbing, with staff severely undervalued and given little support.
The former staff member claimed there were situations that had been “swept under the carpet”, adding: “You have one qualified member of staff running back and forth between two or three wards.”
Rampton holds patients with dangerous, violent, or criminal tendencies[/caption]
It hit the headlines in May after a healthcare watchdog stated that the facility requires ‘urgent improvement’[/caption]
Martyn Farrow lives a stone’s throw from the hospital’s fences[/caption]
Martyn Farrow, who worked as a Rampton nurse for 12 years and then as a security officer for 13 years, lives a stone’s throw from the hospital’s imposing double fence.
The grandfather-of-seven, 69, says the hospital relies heavily on agencies, adding that staff play the system for an easier life.
He said: “There is no training like there used to be. When I first started working at Rampton, staff spent 18 months on a training course – now I’d be amazed if they did two days.
“There should never be one qualified person for two or three wards.
“In the past, some wards had 34 patients and six specialist staff per ward. It’s criminal mismanagement.”
The hospital was rated “requires improvement” by government watchdogs following an unannounced inspection in March.
While the CQC found some “clear improvements” had been made, it said the trust had work to do “to address staff shortages and support staff”.
Sometimes staff were found to be working alone at night, unable to take breaks, and reported feeling “anxious, isolated and unsafe”.
In January 2024 a coroner called for improvements at the hospital following the death of a patient who swallowed a crayon.
‘Child killer called me mum’
Villager Barry Woolley, 79, was a staff nurse at Rampton for 20 years and reminisced about the days when dances were held for patients and wards took part in football tournaments.
He said: “The patients came in and were told what they were doing, and a lot of the staff came from the forces. I think society is different now.”
Valerie Farrow was a nursing assistant in women’s services at Rampton with her husband Martyn, where she came to know Beverley Allitt, a former nurse who killed four babies and attempted to kill three others at a hospital in Grantham, Lincolnshire, in the 1990s.
The 77-year-old said: “If I hadn’t known what she’d done, I’d never have known. She was always all right with me.
“We’d talk about all sorts, nothing to do with her crimes. If they ever wanted to tell me what they had done, I’d listen, but I never asked.
“You have to put it all to the back of your mind.”
Who are the UK’s worst serial killers?
THE UK’s most prolific serial killer was actually a doctor.
Here’s a rundown of the worst offenders in the UK.
- British GP Harold Shipman is one of the most prolific serial killers in recorded history. He was found guilty of murdering 15 patients in 2000, but the Shipman Inquiry examined his crimes and identified 218 victims, 80 per cent of whom were elderly women.
- After his death Jonathan Balls was accused of poisoning at least 22 people between 1824 and 1845.
- Mary Ann Cotton is suspected of murdering up to 21 people, including husbands, lovers and children. She is Britain’s most prolific female serial killer. Her crimes were committed between 1852 and 1872, and she was hanged in March 1873.
- Amelia Sach and Annie Walters became known as the Finchley Baby Farmers after killing at least 20 babies between 1900 and 1902. The pair became the first women to be hanged at Holloway Prison on February 3, 1903.
- William Burke and William Hare killed 16 people and sold their bodies.
- Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe was found guilty in 1981 of murdering 13 women and attempting to kill seven others between 1975 and 1980.
- Dennis Nilsen was caged for life in 1983 after murdering up to 15 men when he picked them up from the streets. He was found guilty of six counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder and was sentenced to life in jail.
- Fred West was found guilty of killing 12 but it’s believed he was responsible for many more deaths.
Valerie grew so acquainted with Carol Barratt, who murdered an 11-year-old schoolgirl at a shopping centre in Doncaster in 1991, that the killer called her “mother” and invited her to her wedding.
“A few got married in Rampton,” she said. “I enjoyed the work. I felt I was doing something to help, it gave me a sense of purpose.”
Now, as troubling questions continue to be asked about the facility, residents of sleepy Woodbeck are being left with much darker memories.
Becky Sutton, Chief Operating Officer at Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, told The sun: “Our colleagues are dedicated to delivering excellent care, often in challenging circumstances.
“We actively listen to feedback from them, working in partnership to make improvements to support our colleagues and our patients, enhance safety and build a stronger learning culture.
“We know there is more to do, and we’re focused on working closely with colleagues to make further improvements so we can meet the standards our patients and colleagues deserve.”
Valerie Farrow came to know baby killer Beverley Allitt[/caption]
Locals living in the village of Woodbeck feel overshadowed by its dark secret[/caption]
