ABOUT 1,500 residents hit the streets in Bromley to protest against plans to expand the medium secure unit at the Bethlem Royal Hospital.

Two protest marches were organised by the residents' group Campaign Against Bethlem Building Expansion (CABBE), on Wednesday and Saturday, last week.

About 1,200 protesters marched through West Wickham town centre on Saturday, while at the mid-week protest, more than 200 marched to Bromley Civic Centre to deliver a petition with about 3,000 signatures and hundreds of letters of objection.

Residents are fighting the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust application to expand the Denis Hill Unit, at the Bethlem Hospital site, Monks Orchard Road, Beckenham.

The locked unit for the mentally ill, including people with criminal convictions, sex offenders and patients from high-security hospitals such as Broadmoor will increase beds from 29 to 89 places by 2005, if permission for the £19m development is given.

Staff development nurse, Mary Yates speaking for the Denis Hill Unit said residents protests were upsetting for staff but accepted residents had a right to demonstrate.

She said: "Some of the communication issued by CABBE isn't true. People joined the march on information which is not accurate."

She criticised the language used about crimes patients have committed, saying it ignored the fact they are mentally ill and needed treatment.

She emphasised that staff would send patients back to more secure care if they present an immediate danger to the community.

"It's not unusual for patients to leave here and go back to Broadmoor or go back to prison," she added. Bethlem said it had received a lot of support from local residents and one local school has written to all of its parents encouraging them to support the unit.

l Turn to page 34 for details of an exhibition of artwork at Bethlem Royal Hospital.