A "whistleblower" care assistant said bosses at a Carlisle nursing home were not happy when she reported a senior colleague to the police for abusing elderly residents.

Rosalind Mitchell made the comment as she gave evidence in the case of her former colleague James Edward Gale.

Gale, 44, of Manor Road, Upperby, denies two counts of ill-treating vulnerable elderly residents and one of sexually touching a man in his nineties who had dementia.

On day two of his Carlisle Crown Court trial, lawyers quizzed Mrs Mitchell about her accounts of what she saw Gale do while she worked with him on night shifts at the Harker Grange nursing home in January, 2016.

She had earlier described alleged incidents involving Gale: him sexually touching a dementia patient; verbally abusing a resident with a severe brain injury and pinning the same man to his bed; and forcing an elderly woman dementia patient's legs apart to put an incontinence pad.

"What happened will never leave my memory," said Mrs Mitchell.

Prosecutor Kim Whittlestsone asked if she was aware that Gale was told no further action would be taken against him if he resigned. Mrs Mitchell said she was aware of that.

"How did that make you feel?" asked the barrister. "Mad," replied Mrs Mitchell.

Later, she felt uneasy that nobody arrived at the home to investigate. On February 3, nine days after she reported her concerns to bosses, she visited Durranhill Police HQ to find out if Harker Grange had reported the allegations.

"They told me it hadn't been reported," she said.

Miss Whittlestone asked: "Were they [Harker Grange] pleased you had gone to the police?"

Mrs Mitchell replied: "Definitely not.

"They were trying to get rid of me because of going to the police and being a whistleblower."

Mark Shepherd, for Gale, suggested that both the verbal abuse allegation and the sexual touching claim were invented to get Gale into trouble. .

Mrs Mitchell insisted both incidents happened as she described them.

Mr Shepherd asked Mrs Mitchell why she did not report the alleged abuse sooner. She said: "Who was going to believe me over a senior carer who had been there for 13 years?"

The trial continues.