Autistic man locked up for 15 years finally freed after Doncaster mum's campaign

Ryan Clarke, 32, first went into a psychiatric hospital at the age of 17 when he tried to self-harm, his mum Sharon said.

He has spent nearly half his life detained in a mental health hospital since first being admitted in 2006 but has now been allowed home following a lengthy campaign by his family.

She said she was ‘over the moon’ to see him return home.

In July the National Autistic Society (NAS) said the number of autistic people confined to mental health units in England was a "national scandal".

Mr Clarke was admitted to hospital over concerns he would self-harm.

He was originally diagnosed with schizophrenia, but received a revised diagnosis of autism when he was 28.

Until Monday he had spent the past five years in a forensic psychiatry unit, which also cared for patients with criminal convictions.

Mrs Clarke said her son was "ecstatic" to have been discharged and would now live independently in his own accommodation with carers.

"He was over the moon, he loved it," she said.

Mrs Clarke, who is originally from Hull but lives in Doncaster, said she had fought "tooth and nail" for her son over the past 15 years, along with husband Peter.

"He's autistic and he has repetitive phrases but I just think that was his coping mechanism whilst he was in hospital. Now I think that will stop. It will fade until it's no more.

"He will have bad days but they'll get fewer and fewer."

Her husband, Peter, said his step-son was "so happy" to live a "normal life".

"We thought he'd be overwhelmed but actually he took it really well, in his stride, and he just got so excited he wanted to do everything at once and see everything at once," he said.

"But he was just laughing and dancing and really happy."

For the last three-and-a-half years, Mr Clarke had been in long-term segregation and was regularly in seclusion in a unit at the Humber Centre in Hull.