Two hospitals are in the firing line after both sending a man away after failing to diagnose his broken leg.

And to add insult to injury, the 31-year-old patient was forced to discharge himself after fruitlessly waiting 17 hours without food or water after a vital operation to repair the fracture was repeatedly delayed.

Colin Wilson, of Braithwaite, was injured in an accident while in Hull, but when he attended the city’s hospital, he was refused an x-ray and pain relief.

He managed to return to Keighley on crutches, only for the break to be missed again – this time at Airedale Hospital.

He said; “The past two weeks for me have been a living hell, compliments of Airedale Hospital and the NHS.

“I now know the original injury was a broken tibia, which requires a metal plate inserting.”

Mr Wilson, a self-employed web designer, suffered the injury on February 9, when a friend greeted him over-exuberantly by jumping on him.

Although in a lot of pain, he did not attend Hull Royal Infirmary until February 11, as he didn’t realise how serious the injury was.

“The triage nurse informed me it was pointless carrying out x-rays because they’d have to send them to my local hospital,” he added.

“I asked about pain relief and was told I’d get this from Airedale. When I asked how I was supposed to get home, she replied: ‘I can give you some crutches for the journey’. So I left with my crutches and got a lift home from a friend.”

Mr Wilson arrived at Airedale later that day, but still received no x-ray or pain killers.

He said: “The doctor concluded it was muscle damage and referred me to a physiotherapist. I finally obtained pain relief after contacting my GP and having a telephone consultation.”

The broken leg was eventually diagnosed a week later. But the pain and frustration wasn’t to end there.

When Mr Wilson went to Airedale for the operation on February 19, the procedure was repeatedly delayed, meaning he was unable to eat for nearly 17 hours.

“I was so fatigued and hungry I discharged myself, and asked the consultant to book me an outpatient appointment,” he said.

Stacey Hunter, Airedale’s director of operations, said: “It’s regrettable Mr Wilson was not x-rayed when he first attended our A&E.

“However, concerns about his injury were picked up as part of his physiotherapy referral, and he was x-rayed and immediately referred to an orthopaedic specialist.

“Further tests and discussions with colleagues followed to ensure the most appropriate treatment was carried out.

“Our rescheduling of his operation was a clinical decision, to ensure we had a full picture of his injury and that a knee specialist could carry out his surgery. We apologise to Mr Wilson for the breakdown in communication.”

A spokesman for Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust responded: “We are unable to comment on the details of Mr Wilson’s case for reasons of patient confidentiality.

“To date, we have not received any contact from him about this issue, so we’d encourage him to speak with us directly in order that we may discuss the matter in more detail.”