Murderer Arthur ‘Neddy’ Smith nearly escapes hospital when prison guard fell asleep

EXCLUSIVE: A HOSPITAL escape bid by notoriousSydney hitman Arthur “Neddy” Smith was foiled when a nurse caught him outside his room after one of his guards fell asleep while the other was using a laptop.

Arthur ‘Neddy’ Smith (pictured before being sent to jail) almost escaped from hospital.

NOTORIOUS Sydney hitman Arthur “Neddy” Smith tried to escape hospital after being left unsupervised by two prison officers assigned to guard him.

The geriatric murderer made his bid for freedom from a bed in Randwick’s Prince of Wales Hospital after one officer nodded off to sleep and the other was using a laptop.

Nurses foiled the escape when they recognised the 72-year-old outside his room — wearing a hospital gown and trying to pull out his intravenous drip — and alerted his guards on Monday.

Neddy Smith walked out of his hospital room but was stopped by nurses.

Hospital staff then contacted senior Corrective Services staff who are investigating the incident, including why he was not handcuffed to his hospital bed, as is usual for dangerous inmates.

Corrections Minister David Elliott said the escape bid “sent a chill down my spine”.

Smith, who has Parkinson’s disease and possibly suffers from Alzheimer’s, was taken from Long Bay jail, where he is serving two life sentences for murder, to the hospital’s cardiac wing for treatment for a heart problem.

Smith appealed in 2010 to serve out his sentence under house arrest so he could “die at home” but the application was denied.

Smith has two children with his ex-wife Debra, whom he married in prison when she was just 22. It is understood Debra Smith still visits her ex-husband.

A Corrective Services spokeswoman confirmed two officers had “failed to keep watch” over Smith but denied he was trying to escape.

She said: “It is alleged the inmate attempted to get out of his bed. The allegation is being taken seriously and the Governance and Continuous Improvement Division will interview the two officers as part of an investigation.

“The officers will be disciplined if the allegation is proven.”

The wing at Prince of Wales hospital in Randwick that houses prisoners from NSW jails.

Mr Elliott said: “If it is true, these officers will have let down the thousands of hardworking correctional staff who put their heart and soul into this demanding job.

“I will be kept informed as the investigation progresses and expect a report on its findings.”

Sources said Smith would not face any additional charges over the incident.

Smith was serving a life sentence for the road-rage killing of Ronnie Flavell, but had a date for parole after 25 years, when he was charged with the 1983 killing of Harvey Jones.

A nurse at Prince of Wales Hospital foiled Smith’s bid for freedom.

Jones’s body was not found until 12 years after he was last seen at a pub in ­Alexandria.

A jury convicted Smith in 1998 of shooting Jones.

However, Smith claimed evidence that has never been formally produced by authorities proves he could not have murdered Jones, despite his confession to a prison ­informer.