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Dishonest Whitley Bay hospital patient fraudulently used NHS code to pay for taxis Jobless Brandon Durning had been given the code by a staff member to use once in order to get home but he

abused that trust by using it a further two timesCommentsSara Nichol Court Reporter12:00, 24 May 2025Brandon Durning pictured at South East Northumberland Magistrates' Court in

Bedlington.(Image: ChronicleLive) A dishonest hospital patient fraudulently used an NHS code to book and pay for taxis.

Jobless Brandon Durning had attended Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital, in Cramlington, but couldn't afford to get home. A concerned member of staff gave him a code to use at a

local taxi company, meaning the NHS would foot the bill, a court heard.

‌ However, despite only being given permission to use the code once, the 23-year-old crook used it to pay for a further two taxis. A nurse at the hospital eventually spotted what Durning had

done and reported him.

‌ The career criminal, of North Ridge, in Whitley Bay, has now been ordered to pay the fares back to the NHS after he pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud by false representation. Holly

Clegg, prosecuting at South East Northumberland Magistrates' Court, said Durning was given a code to get home from NSEC on June 9 2023.

Miss Clegg continued: "He returned to the hospital a while later with beer. This raised the suspicions of a nurse. She contacted Phoenix Taxis, who confirmed the defendant had used their NHS

code to book three taxis."

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The court heard that the first fraudulent fare was for £20.50, whilst the second was for £63.30. Magistrates also heard that, since the offence in June 2023, Durning had committed and been

sentenced for further offences, including assaulting his 77-year-old grandad after he refused to give him a cigarette.

Mark Harrison, defending, said: "If he'd been sentenced for these fraud offences at the same time as other offences, I would submit it would have been marked by no separate penalty. He was

not in a particularly good place in relation to his personal circumstances at the time and he was drinking too much and his mental health had deteriorated."

Article continues below Durning was ordered to pay a total of £73.80 in compensation to the NHS.

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