Surgeon jailed for fraud after amputation of own legs

A celebrated surgeon has pleaded guilty to fraud charges after falsely claiming to insurers that his legs were amputated due to illness, in a highly disturbing court case in Cornwall.

In fact, Neil Hopper’s legs had been injured by dry ice as he sought sexual gratification through self-mutilation.

The surgeon was charged after investigators traced the online contacts of another man who had made hundreds of thousands of pounds from mutilation videos.

Warning: this report contains graphic and disturbing details.