A mental health nurse said he feared that staff at Airedale General Hospital have not been properly protected from violent and aggressive patients or visitors.

The man, who asked not to be identified, said there had been times when staff had been forced to rely on porters for security help.

"The job calls for experienced officers - experience in dealing with violent and aggressive people who are able to defuse a situation before it becomes violent," he said.

The nurse was among demonstrators at the Steeton-based hospital yesterday who were protesting at the refusal of the hospital's contract security company to reinstate a security officer. The General Municipal and Boilermakers Union, which organised the protest, alleges that security contract company CP Plus is failing to maintain a proper level of security.

The union claims car park attendants were drafted in to work in security at the hospital and that last Friday there were no qualified security officers on duty and only one on Saturday night.

A security officer, who wished to remain anonymous, said there were only three trained security officers available to cover the hospital this month. "If there is a violent situation that's the time you need somebody who has been trained in restrain and control techniques," he said.

Security officer Joe Brady resigned after being traumatised by having to identify two women patients who died on the nearby Leeds to Skipton railway line last November.

When he decided to return to work after recovering, CP Plus refused to give him his job back.

Bob Allen, Airedale NHS Trust boss, said: "We are satisfied with the way the security contract is being delivered.

"There were some concerns expressed a year ago that there had not been adequate training. We discussed it with the company and it responded to our concerns."