An NHS vascular surgeon who carried out hundreds of amputation operations has admitted cutting his legs off on purpose then lying about losing them to sepsis to claim a £466,000 insurance payout.
Neil Hopper, 49, has been jailed for 32 months after pleading guilty to two charges of fraud by false representation relating to claims made to insurance companies that his legs had been amputated due to illness rather than self-inflicted injury.
He also admitted three charges of possessing extreme pornographic images, relating to videos by a website called the EunuchMaker, which depicted genital mutilation.
Hopper, of St Erme, Truro, Cornwall, appeared before Truro Crown Court on Thursday to enter his guilty pleas.
The court heard Hopper had used dry ice to freeze his legs to the extent they were no longer viable, requiring amputation – which had long been an ambition of his and he had a sexual interest in.
Following the amputation, he made claims to the insurers which resulted in total payouts of £466,653.81.
He previously appeared on This Morning in 2020 where he claimed he developed sepsis after becoming unwell during a family camping trip in 2019.
The surgeon, who won a Brave Briton award, told the BBC in 2023: ‘My life is more interesting because of what’s happened to me.’
Neil Hopper, 49, sobs in court as he pleaded guilty to fraud and was jailed for 32 months
Hopper, from Cornwall, pleaded guilty to two charges of fraud at Truro Crown Court by falsely claiming his legs had been amputated due to illness
The surgeon had previously appeared on breakfast TV to talk about losing his legs to sepsis
Hopper also gave an interview to the BBC in which he described returning to work after supposedly losing his legs to sepsis
Hopper is also accused of encouraging ‘Eunuch Maker’ Marius Gustavson (pictured) to amputate body parts
Prosecutor Nicholas Lee told the court Hopper had lied about the injuries that led to both his legs being amputated – not telling them they were ‘self-inflicted’.
On the videos Hopper purchased from Marius Gustavson, who ran the The EunuchMaker website, Mr Lee said he had ‘deliberately sought’ the videos, which he had a ‘sexual’ interest in.
‘It’s clearly a very unusual case,’ he said. ‘He deliberately sought out videos of genital mutilation. He told Mr Gustavson he loved these videos and had watched them thousands of times.’
Defending Hopper, Andrew Langdon KC said his client had had a ‘distaste’ from a young age of his feet.
‘From a young age, he felt he was in the wrong body,’ Mr Langdon said. ‘He was troubled by his gender. He wanted to be female.
‘He suffered body dysphoria and a particular distaste for his feet. They never felt part of him; they felt as an unwelcome extra.’
Charges state that between June 3 and July 20 in 2019, Hopper dishonestly made a false representation to insurers Aviva and Old Mutual Health, that his ‘legs had been amputated because of illness rather than self-inflicted injury’.
Hopper was in 2020 named one of the bravest people in Britain.
Hopper was in 2020 named one of the bravest people in Britain
He has now been jailed for 32 months after pleading guilty to fraud
Following the amputation, he made claims to the insurers which resulted in total payouts of £466,653.81
He received the Against All Odds title at the Amplifon Awards for Brave Britons 2020, in a virtual ceremony hosted by BBC1 TV Breakfast presenter Rachel Burden.
At first glance, his story was one of extraordinary resurgence.
A double-leg amputee surgeon who not only defied sepsis and disability, he also made it to the brink of space exploration.
An S4C documentary had followed the Welsh-speaking doctor on his journey from near death to public acclaim and admiration.
Broadcast on the evening of February 26 2023, Drych: Camau Tua’r Ser painted the portrait of a man reborn through hardship.
After a period of treatment following sepsis he said he had developed in 2019, Hopper lost his toes and much of the skin on the underneath his feet, so amputation was decided upon.
‘Signing the consent forms – well, there aren’t words to describe how I felt,’ Hopper told the documentary.
‘I remember imagining the operation – operations which I do all the time, and thinking that power tools were going to be used on me. That was really difficult to process.
He received the Against All Odds title at the Amplifon Awards for Brave Britons 2020, in a virtual ceremony hosted by BBC1 TV Breakfast presenter Rachel Burden
Hopper has not worked at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust since March 2023
‘I was in hospital for about six or seven weeks. The physical changes in my body were fairly easy to understand, but what I didn’t understand were the psychological changes and how hard it was just to fit back into family life.’
But receiving his prosthetic legs marked a turning point and allowed him to resume the career he loved, and also follow his dreams of becoming a parastronaut.
At the time, he was told that he had better reconsider his career, as it would not be ‘possible or practical’ for him to return to the theatre.
‘I was determined to go back to work,’ he said.
‘I wanted to prove that they were completely wrong. Throughout my career I’d always tried to imagine what it was like to have an amputation, so I didn’t expect to get the answer.
‘You won’t have a chance to see what it’s like on the other side of the knife. My experience has made me think more about how I communicate with patients. I believe it has made me a better doctor.’
In February 2021, a call came from the European Space Agency for people to fill the newly advertised astronaut position as part of their Parastronaut Feasibility Project.
Having always had a great interest in things related to space, the role struck a chord, and Hopper decided to apply.
The surgeon, who won a Brave Briton award, said in a 2023 interveiew: ‘My life is more interesting because of what’s happened to me.’
In December 2021, he was told that he had been selected for the recruitment process.
‘When I saw the advertisement from the European Space Agency for a parastronaut, I had to put in an application,’ he told S4C.
‘The criteria were quite specific; you had to have a doctorate in engineering or medicine, you had to have a disability below the knee, and you had to speak a second language – hey, Welsh.
‘At first my wife Rachel thought I was completely crazy.’
Hopper lost out to British Paralympian John McFall but told BBC Radio Cornwall that having gone quite far into the process he had begun to fear being selected and not returning from space.
‘My wife was interested in what the insurance payout would be if the rocket blew up,’ he joked.
But, within weeks, Hopper was no longer working at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust and restrictions were placed on his practice, and later he was suspended from the medical register.
He has not worked at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust since March 2023.
The court heard Hopper had used dry ice to freeze his legs to the extent they were no longer viable, requiring amputation – which he had a sexual interest in.
The General Medical Council placed restrictions on his practice the following month, and he has been suspended from the medical register since December 2023.
As his Instagram biography ruefully states: ‘12% robotic 100% idiot.’
After Hopper was charged with five offences, the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust – where Hopper had been employed for a decade – released a statement.
A spokesperson said: ‘The charges do not relate to Mr Hopper’s professional conduct and there has been no evidence to suggest any risk to patients.
‘Mr Hopper worked in at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals from 2013 until he was suspended from duty in March 2023, following his initial arrest.’
During the court hearing on Thursday, Judge James Adkin, the honorary recorder of Truro, heard Hopper was identified following investigations into Marius Gustavson who ran the The EunuchMaker website.
Gustavson was jailed for life with a minimum term of 22 years at the Old Bailey last year for leading an extreme body modification ring, which carried out male castration, penis removal and other procedures on people as young as 16.
The Norwegian national once cooked human testicles to eat in a salad, and also had his own penis removed with a kitchen knife, and froze his own leg so it was amputated.
He previously appeared on This Morning in 2020 where he claimed he developed sepsis after becoming unwell during a family camping trip in 2019
The Old Bailey heard last year that extreme body modification is linked to a subculture where men become ‘nullos’, short for genital nullification, by having their penis and testicles removed.
Gustavson netted more than £300,000 between 2017 and 2021 after posting videos of various procedures on his Eunuch Maker website.
Former patients of Hopper – including some who underwent amputations – have contacted South West-based medical negligence firm Enable Law.
They say they are concerned about the treatment they received from Hopper, in light of the criminal charges brought against him.
Mike Bird, partner at Enable Law, said the case had caused ‘shock and grave concern’ among his former patients.
‘Some have had life-changing surgery and are now worried it was not really needed,’ Mr Bird said.
‘While we understand that RCHT have said that the charges do not relate to his professional conduct and there is apparently no evidence suggesting any risk to patients, this is such a serious situation that there must be a rigorous public investigation.
‘It is no wonder that patients of Mr Hopper want to know whether they received the right treatment from this surgeon in the light of these charges and his suspension.
‘The patients we are advising want answers and above all, want to know that the Trust is doing all it can to investigate and support them.’
Enable Law is also working with the Limbless Association, a charity which supports amputees.
Mr Bird stressed that for patients and their families, there had to be ‘a proper independent investigation, conducted openly and transparently’.
‘We want to work with the Trust to make sure there is proper scrutiny and accountability, and that patients are protected,’ he added.
‘We are also strongly recommending that the Royal Cornwall Hospital Trust immediately puts in place psychological and medical support and works with Limbless Association experts to manage patient communication.’
