NURSES working late at Fairfield Hospital will be escorted to their cars at the end of their shifts by round-the-clock parking attendants.

The move to police the grounds follows a meeting with medical staff who complained about poor car park security.

Fairfield General Hospital has been identified as one of the borough's hotspots for car crime, and police recently conducted an undercover operation in a bid to catch thieves.

As reported in the Bury Times, nurses were forced to introduce their own security checks to ensure the safety of their colleagues.

One senior nurse asked her staff to let the department know they had safely reached their cars.

And nurses on late shifts had been given permission to move their cars closer to the hospital building when parking bays became available, despite fears that their absence could compromise patient safety.

Speaking at this week's meeting of the Bury Health Care NHS Trust board, hospital manager David Clements said: "Medical staff are invited to take advantage of the secure car park which will be manned by parking attendants, for £10 a month.

"A meeting was held with medical staff, all who had had their cars broken into and they are agreed that £10 was reasonable.

"There are five or six car break-ins a day and this scheme should deter this. The parking attendants will also help escort staff, particularly nurses."

Parking for hospital visitors will remain free.