Hostel death of Munchausen victim

A 56-year-old man who pestered hospital doctors and nurses into treating him has been found dead at a hostel.

Anthony Rouse, 56, of no fixed address, claimed to be an international traveller with abdominal complaints.

At St Albans Crown Court last week he admitted two charges of fraud and asked for 13 others to be taken into account.

He was give a two-year community order under probation service care but was found dead at the Open House Hostel in St Albans on Thursday morning.

Psychiatric treatment

Experts said he was suffering from Munchausen's Syndrome, a condition where people faked illness or disease.

Mr Rouse always showed good medical knowledge and would tell staff he was a vet or a film maker.

Between May 2006 and December last year he was treated at 15 hospitals at a cost to the NHS of £50,000, St Albans Crown Court was told.

Judge Stephen Warner passed a two-year community order with a condition that Mr Rouse was supervised by probation.

He was also due to receive psychiatric treatment.

Hertfordshire police said they were not treating the death as suspicious but the cause was not yet known.