The acting chief executive of the scandal-hit Ashworth High Security Psychiatric Hospital is to leave his post.

Peter Clarke has been running the hospital in Maghull, Merseyside, since a damning report into the way the unit was run was issued last year.

The Fallon Report recommended that Ashworth should close after it revealed paedophile activity and widespread corruption amongst staff and patients.

Among the most shocking revelations uncovered by the Fallon Report was the case of an eight-year-old girl who was repeatedly allowed to visit unsupervised a ward housing patients who had a record of sexual abuse against children.

The investigators said they had no confidence in the ability of any of the then management team to reform the way the hospital was run.

However, the unit was reprieved despite the then health secretary Frank Dobson lambasting a "shameful story of confusion, indecision, mismanagement and incompetence" at the hospital.

Last chance

Mr Clarke was widely perceived as being Ashworth's last chance.

He was drafted in two years ago during the Fallon investigation and has overseen implementation of an action plan to reform the way the hospital is run.

Robert Tinston, director of the NHS Executive, said Mr Clarke had done an outstanding job and had significantly improved security and restored public confidence in the hospital.

Mr Clarke will be replaced by Lezli Boswell, the former chief nurse at Broadmoor Hospital who for the last two years has been working at Mental Health Services of Salford Trust - the hospital with which Ashworth has been forging close links.

Mr Clarke is to head up the Western regional mental health development centre. He will retain a strategic role in the future development of Ashworth.