TWO more people have been arrested by police on suspicion of abusing patients at a private hospital in Hambrook.

Two women, aged 22 and 21, have been questioned by Avon and Somerset Constabulary following the abuse scandal at Winterbourne View, on Vantage Park industrial estate.

Both women were arrested on Monday on suspicion of assault and mistreatment of patients under the Mental Capacity Act. Both have been released on bail pending further inquiries.

It takes the total number of people arrested to six after a woman, aged 24, and three men, aged 42, 30 and 25, were arrested and released on bail last week.

The arrests come after the BBC's Panorama programme screened footage obtained by an undercover reporter which showed adults with severe learning difficulties being mentally and physically abused by staff.

The hospital's owners Castlebeck have issued a full apology and ordered an independent review. South Gloucestershire Council's Safeguarding Adults Board announced this week it too was carrying out a review of the systems in place to protect patients at the hospital.

The NHS and Care Quality Commission have also launched their own inquiries.