Drunk with dead rabbit slept in maternity ward

There was an unexpected arrival at one maternity hospital when mothers- to-be and mothers with newborn babies woke to find they were sharing a ward with a man who had wandered into the unit and fallen asleep in a spare bed.

It was later discovered the man was carrying a blood-stained dead rabbit in his coat pocket.

The HSE has carried out a full security audit into the serious security breach at Midland Regional Hospital, Portlaoise.