A man who dumped an American suffering with dementia at Hereford Hospital after claiming to have found him, has been sentenced to a two and a half year custodial sentence for perverting the course of justice, with a six month sentence to run concurrently for fraud.

Simon Hayes, aged 53 of Henlade, Taunton, was sentenced at Worcester Crown Court today (Tuesday, April 30th).

On Saturday, November 7th, 2015, an American man, believed to be in his seventies, was found at a bus station in Hereford.

Simon Hayes flagged down an ambulance for the man and claimed he did not know him. The man himself did not know his own identity and subsquently, a national and international appeal was launched by police to try and identify him.

When questioned about the incident, Hayes denied any involvement and provided a false statement to police.

The man was subsequently identified by a member of the public who recognised his photo from an old American school yearbook.

During the investigation, it transpired that the man had earlier been brought over from America in order for him to be looked after by the state, and that Hayes knew the man’s identity.

Hayes was subsequently arrested on April 13th, 2016. On March 11th, 2019, he appeared at Hereford Crown Court where he pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice and possession of articles for use in fraud.