A 35-YEAR-OLD Accrington man broke a mirror in an accident at a cubicle in Blackburn Royal Infirmary and then slashed his wrists with a fragment.

Barry Slater, who did not want to be represented by a solicitor, told Blackburn magistrates that he had gone into hospital after taking an overdose of prescribed medication and remembered little after mutilating himself.

And he revealed that since the incident in April he sought help and was planning to make a fresh start in Crawley where his brother had offered him a job.

Slater, of Wellington Street, pleaded guilty to criminal damage. He was given a conditional discharge for 12 months and ordered to pay £50 compensation.

Eddie Harrison, prosecuting, said Slater had been seen by a nurse and a doctor and was told to wait in a cubicle until he could be taken for an X-ray. A nurse returned to find him with cuts to both wrists.

Slater said: "I have been off heroin for two years and my brother is prepared to give me a chance."