AN NHS vascular surgeon who had his own legs removed has admitted two counts of insurance fraud and three of possessing extreme pornography.

Neil Hopper, 49, who lives in Truro, had his legs amputated below the knee in 2019. He was accused of telling insurers that his injuries were the “result of sepsis and were not self-inflicted”.

However, appearing at Truro Crown Court earlier today [Thursday, September 4], he pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud by false representation between June 3 and June 26, 2019.

The court heard that in May 2019, Hopper had below-knee amputations after a "mysterious illness", when in fact he had used ice and dry ice to freeze his own legs so they had to be removed.

The court was told Hopper had a "sexual interest in amputation", and that the fraudulent insurance claims from two firms totalled more than £466,000.

Mr Hopper also admitted three charges of possessing extreme pornographic images and one charge of encouraging/assisting in the commission of an indictable-only offence (grievous bodily harm). These charges related to videos from a website called the Eunuch Maker where users paid for films of amputations and other extreme body modifications. Its owner, Marius Gustavson, was jailed for life in 2024.

Originally from Aberystwyth in west Wales, Hopper was employed by the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust (RCHT) from 2013. An investigation by Devon and Cornwall Police began in February 2023; Mr Hopper ceased practising at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals in March 2023, with General Medical Council restrictions in place from April 2023. He was suspended from the medical register in December 2023.

RCHT has been approached for a comment.