Mr Hudson, of Waterloo Road, Cranbrook, found himself trapped in a toilet after a second hip replacement operation. And after pulling the emergency cord three times to no avail he turned to his trusty vocal chords.

 

He recalled: "When I was ready I pulled the red chord and I got no response. "I waited a bit more and when I started to get a bit chilly I wondered what I could do if they're not taking any notice of the bell? "I thought, oh well, it's coming up to Christmas, so I gave them the opening verse of the Hallelujah chorus.

 

"The doors opened very quickly. I like to think it was because they didn't want to disturb the rest of the patients rather than my singing."