WHEN a tenor-singing pensioner got stuck with his Zimmer Frame in a hospital toilet he used an unusual weapon to attract the nurse's attention – Handel's Hallelujah Chorus.

It might seem like a far-fetched comedy sketch but it's what actually happened to 80-year-old George Hudson at Kent and Sussex Hospital.

Mr Hudson, of Waterloo Road, Cranbrook, found himself trapped in a toilet after a second hip replacement operation.

And after pulling the emergency cord three times to no avail he turned to his trusty vocal chords.

He recalled: "When I was ready I pulled the red chord and I got no response.

"I waited a bit more and when I started to get a bit chilly I wondered what I could do if they're not taking any notice of the bell?

"I thought, oh well, it's coming up to Christmas, so I gave them the opening verse of the Hallelujah chorus.

"The doors opened very quickly. I like to think it was because they didn't want to disturb the rest of the patients rather than my singing."

Although the incident could have been a lot more serious, the tenacious tenor had no complaints about the hospital and its staff. "I feel so sorry for them," he said. "They're working their socks off. I was in a large ward with some very difficult characters.

"I mean they behaved so badly towards the nurses. I think if I hadn't got a bad leg I would have got up and kicked them."

Mr Hudson, who has performed with the Cranbrook and District Choral Society since he was 27, said this was not the first time he had used his voice to get what he wanted.

"My wife Pam is terrified of me when we're sitting on a train and we're bedevilled by young ladies going through all their domestic affairs on their mobiles," he said.

"I'll say 'If they don't shut up I'm going to start singing'. She tells me not to though."

Unfortunately Mr Hudson's ill-health means he will not be able to take part in the society's performance of Handel's Messiah at St Dunstan's Church on December 12 when the Hallelujah Chorus will be sung in full.

Hospital Trust spokesman Darren Yates said: "We wish George all the very best for the future and apologise for not answering his call sooner by more traditional means."