A VULNERABLE patient wandered into the street after a care home nurse turned an alarm system off while he watched football on the TV, a disciplinary hearing was told.

Peter Helps, 44, allegedly spent most of the weekend with his feet up enjoying live matches after switching off the emergency call buzzers at Mapleford Residential Nursing Home, Huncoat.

But his actions also deactivated the sound on the door alarm and an elderly dementia patient was able to slip out of the Bolton Avenue, building unnoticed.

He was later found next to a busy road.

Helps, of Oswaldtwistle, has been accused of misconduct at an Nursing and Midwifery Council hearing in London over his neglect of residents during the World Cup finals in June 2006.

He is not attending the hearing, but could be struck off the nursing register if the charges against him are proved.

Care assistant Miriam Gudgeon told the panel how Helps was the senior nurse in charge at the home over the World Cup weekend of June 17 and 18, 2006.

During the two-day period there were six live games on TV, including Italy's 1-1 draw with USA, France's 1-1 draw with South Korea and Brazil's 2-0 win over Australia.

Ms Gudgeon said that Helps spent most of his shift watching television in the bar lounge and staff complained to managers because he was not doing any work.

The hearing was told that Helps was supposed to be in charge of handing out cigarettes to residents who smoked, but he refused to give any to the elderly resident who subsequently wandered off, referred to in court as Mr A.

That was despite the fact that the man's family had paid for his provisions, the hearing was told.

Ms Gudgeon said: "He refused him and said no, quite frankly Mr A, you **** me right off'.' Ms Gudgeon said she was disgusted' at Helps' actions, and reported him to the nurse in charge.

Staff noticed that Mr A had disappeared at 6pm on the Sunday.

Ms Gudgeon said: "All the carers went their separate ways to search the building to see if he was in a room or if he had gone to another floor. We searched the bathrooms and toilets and he was nowhere to be found."

The elderly resident was found confused and standing in the garden of a nearby block of flats.

"He was lucky because there is a main road to the side of that,' said Ms Gudgeon.

Ms Gudgeon said that the home's back door was wide open - which should have set the alarm system off.

A red light was flashing on the building's alarm system, but it had not made a noise as it should have done when the door opened, the hearing was told.

Ms Gudgeon said: "The alarm system had been turned off - there was no noise coming from it.

"When we got back in Mr Helps was in the bar lounge. He wasn't aware that a resident had got out "He wasn't even aware we were searching, he was still watching TV."

Another care assistant had earlier seen Helps turn the switch off, which meant residents' call bells in their rooms were silenced, the hearing was told.

The home manager Julie Hammond told the panel how the other nurse and several care assistants complained about the weekend's shambles and Helps' behaviour.

Helps later left his position at the home.

He is charged with misconduct for withholding cigarettes for no apparent reason, spending long periods of his shift watching TV, silencing the call buzzer system and speaking inappropriately to Resident A.

The hearing continues.