A man's repeated phone calls to his ex-wife caused disruption in the hospital unit where she worked as a nurse, a court heard.

Steven Darlington could not come to terms with the fact that his 12-year marriage to his wife, Linda, had ended in divorce, prosecutor Simon Alexander told Bradford magistrates.

He began making calls to the vascular unit at Bradford Royal Infirmary, insisting that he be allowed to speak to her. On one day in January, he rang 15 times.

"The series of calls became a nuisance and started to affect the nurses and the work on the ward,'' said Mr Alexander. "It was made quite clear on all occasions that she did not want any contact.''

The ward manager had stated that Darlington could be aggressive at times, but he was not shouting or abusive.

When interviewed by the police, he claimed the calls were necessary to sort out problems with the contents of their house as it was being sold.

Darlington, 38, of Park View Avenue, Stump Cross, Halifax, pleaded guilty to harassing his ex-wife and Lianne Bibby, the manager of Ward 21 at the BRI.

Neil Allerton, mitigating, said his client was thought to be suffering from the hereditary disease Huntington's chorea and had been referred to a neuro-surgeon.

District Judge David Thomas adjourned the case until May 25 for reports to be prepared and bailed Darlington to appear in court again on that date.