A man has been charged over the storming of East Surrey NHS Hospital in January.

Kent man Tobe Hayden Leigh, 45, was charged Friday (June 25) with one offence of "causing a nuisance on NHS premises", Surrey Police said.

He has since been released on bail to appear at Guildford Magistrates Court on July 13.

The charge relates to a shocking incident at the NHS hospital that occurred at the height of the severe wave of the Covid-19 virus that swept the country during the winter.

As the Surrey Comet reported at the time, several people forced their way into the hospital on January 21, refusing to wear masks and abusing NHS staff inside.

As a police statement released shortly after the time described:

"A number of people, some of whom were not wearing masks, gained access to the critical care ward to visit a family member and were abusive towards hospital staff when they were asked to do so."

Reports later emerged that the group were motivated by erroneous claims including denying the existence of Covid-19.

A police appeal launched in the in the immediate aftermath of the incident generated hundreds of responses and two men including Leigh were subsequently arrested.