A patient had a seven-inch pair of forceps sewn into his body for nine days, thanks to a mistake made by a nurse, it has been claimed.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council heard last week how Sau Kit Loke, from West Harrow, allegedly forgot about the forceps because surgeons were asking her to do "too many other things" at the same time.

The 62-year-old was asked more than half a dozen times where the seven-inch long surgical forceps had gone, before she produced an identical pair for cleaning, the hearing was told.

They were eventually found in the patient with the point facing his bowel after emergency surgery at Ealing Hospital.

Janet Ranson told the hearing she was working at the west London hospital sterilising surgical instruments at the time of the incident, on March 15, 2004.

The first she knew something was amiss was when colleague Mohammed Ziblim asked her to check if all the instruments for ward five had been returned - standard practice after surgery.

She said: "He thought two items were missing. He was right. A seven inch Lanes forceps and a Gillies forceps were both missing.

"Mohammed went off to the ward to ask for the instruments back. He didn't get anywhere. He asked me to try and get them.

"I went back to theatre and asked nurse Sau Kit. I told her exactly what we were looking for. I can't remember what the response was."

She said both she and Mr Ziblim asked for the forceps up to six times.

Eventually identical forceps were brought in for cleaning.

By this time it was coming up to 7.30pm and Mrs Ranson was due to finish her shift.

She added: "I just remember I was grateful they were there. I was beginning to think we weren't going to get them back.

"I just assumed they were the right ones. I asked where she found them and she said on the floor."

Loke later told another doctor that she had found the forceps in a bin for needles, cotton wool swabs and other waste, the panel heard.

Loke, denies failing to stop the surgical operation when she found the forceps missing, failing to report two sets of instruments missing, undertaking a final count of instruments without a witness being present, falsely stating to a colleague that all the instruments were accounted for, and failing to record the final instrument check as correct.

She claims the surgeon could have left the forceps in the body "when her back was turned".

The panel will sit on February 17 to consider submissions by Loke's lawyer that she has no case to answer.