A man claims he was strapped to a chair and sexually abused by Jimmy Savile at a Kent mental health hospital 46 years ago, it has emerged.

The alleged victim says he was 21 when the paedophile presenter drugged him before the attack at St Martin’s Hospital in Canterbury in 1969.

He says he was a patient at the time and reported the assault to staff and the police, but claims a court threw out the case due to a lack of evidence.

But an investigation sparked by the allegation has ruled it was “unlikely” Savile had ever been at the hospital and could not trace any record of the matter being brought to court.

In a report published today, the Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership (KMPT) – which runs the hospital – also says it found no evidence of the alleged victim having been a patient there in 1969.

It launched the probe after it was alerted to the allegation by the NHS Savile Investigation Unit in October last year.

The alleged victim – who the report calls Mr S to protect his identity – was interviewed by members of an investigating team set up by the Trust and gave “an inconsistent and confusing account of events”.

He says he was driven to the hospital by police after a consultation with a GP and when there given an injection or tablet by Savile to "refresh his memory".

He claims he was then strapped to a chair and sexually assaulted. Someone else was in the room who looked like a marine, he said.

Mr S identified two staff members at the hospital, one who he claimed took him to the police station and the other who he says was also abused by Savile.

The Trust was unable to make contact with the first or identify the second.

Kent Police was contacted to trace the officer who dealt with Mr S’s allegations, but there was no record of him or the matter ever being brought to court.

Investigators did find a photo of Savile meeting the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1969, but no record of a visit to St Martin’s Hospital or any other hospital in Canterbury.

The Trust says no other allegations had been received concerning Savile.

Mr S is currently receiving professional support, which will continue after the investigation has concluded.

The report concludes: “The investigation has not been able to identify any independent source of evidence to corroborate the presence of Mr S at St Martin’s Hospital in 1969.

“Unfortunately the Trust has not been able to obtain any witness testimony and an extensive review of archive documents has provided no evidence to connect Mr S with St Martin’s Hospital in 1969.

“The investigating officers have concluded therefore that, on the balance of probabilities, Savile was not present at St Martin’s Hospital at the time of Mr S’s alleged admission in the year 1969 and that it is unlikely that Mr S was a patient in 1969.”

The report recommended that the trust should develop a separate policy on sanctioned visitors and have it in place by the end of next month.