GUARDS at a secure psychiatric hospital will strike after two workers were sacked for using a slipper to shield themselves from a violent patient.

The Prison Officers Association (POA) said that a patient at Ashworth Hospital’s secure division in Merseyside was convicted of three counts of assault after head-butting and spitting at staff — considered a serious offence as he has hepatitis C.

Sources indicate that the patient concerned is Andrew Farndon, who hit the headlines in 2012 when he escaped from hospital assisted by a friend armed with a replica gun.

The patient was being treated under escort after wounding himself.

When the guards tried to restrain him, the patient reportedly continued to spit at them, leading the guards to hold one of the patient’s slippers in front of their faces as a barrier to his saliva.

After police ended their inquiries, the patient made a complaint against the two guards, whom the POA said had a combined service of 50 years and “unblemished records.”

The patient reportedly did not allege that he had been touched with the slipper — but NHS disciplinarians concluded that it could have been a threat had he been.

The guards were dismissed in May and later lost appeals.

Mersey Care NHS trust chief executive Joe Rafferty said the disciplinary process included “the use of CCTV footage, testimonies and witnesses” and that he was “satisfied these proceedings have been fair and have reached the right conclusion.”

But POA general secretary Steve Gillan told the Star that the patient must be laughing up his sleeve.

“It would appear Mersey Care management are obsessed with safeguarding violent individuals with no thought for a duty of care to staff,” he said.

“The membership at Ashworth are correct to be angry about this case and we will highlight it to the general public by taking strike action which our members have voted for overwhelmingly.”

Mr Farndon is serving at least 16 years for his escape and hijacking police cars while on the run.

His other convictions include setting fire to his mother’s house and attacking a motorist with a hammer and a baseball bat.

The trust would not confirm the patient’s identity.