A mental patient who tried to commit suicide by throwing himself under a train is to receive £400,000 in compensation.

Noel Dawson, 48, had admitted himself to Waterlow Psychiatric unit on Highgate Hill for his own protection in January 2004.

However, he went ‘absent without leave’ on January 13th and threw himself under a Highgate station tube nine days later.

Mr Davison suffered head injuries and a broken pelvis, but survived the attempt on his life.

He sought compensation from Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust, claiming that hospital staff had failed to assess his mental state and had failed to protect him from himself by providing a secure unit.

Although the trust refused to admit liability, at a high court hearing this week, it agreed to a compensation payout as an out-of-court settlement.

Marjorie Wallace, founder of the mental health charity Sane, commented: "We hope this will make psychiatric units much more careful in protecting the lives of their patients."

Earlier this month, Get Reading reported that the parents of a man who hung himself after escaping from a supposedly secure medical facility are to seek compensation for their loss.