Ten people went missing from wards at Oxford's Warneford and Littlemore mental health hospitals in the last year.

But this is a dramatic fall on the previous 12 months. Nineteen people went missing from April 1, 2003, to March 31 last year.

Patients who went missing were from lower security acute wards, made up of a mixture of patients who were there voluntarily, or who had been sectioned.

Oxfordshire Mental Healthcare NHS Trust said all returned without incident in the community. No-one absconded from higher security wards.

Steven Spencer, 54, has been returned to the Warneford Hospital after going missing for two months. He had previously been missing for a month towards the end of last year.

The trust said security on its wards was increased about a year ago due to the numbers who had gone missing, and was subject to continuous reviews.

Director of operations David Bradley said: "While the trust cannot discuss the specific details of this case, we can assure the public that we take security issues extremely seriously.

"The majority of patients being treated on hospital wards are there voluntarily. If a patient sectioned under the Mental Health Act leaves a ward without permission, the trust will immediately involve the police. In the vast majority of cases, they are quickly located and returned to hospital.

"These kind of incidents are rare, but are always fully investigated, and security is reviewed if necessary. Last year the trust introduced new security systems as a result of these investigations."

Mr Spencer was found safe and well in Minehead, Somerset, on March 1, after being missing for two months. He had last been seen at the Warneford on December 30.

He previously went missing on November 16, and was found by police in Shirley, near Birmingham, on December 19.

Police had issued a warning via the media not to approach Mr Spencer, and instead to dial 999, because he did not have medication with him.

Mental health charity Mind called for people with problems to be helped into treatment within the community, before they required hospitalisation.

Patrick Taylor, the director of Oxfordshire Mind, said: "Mind welcomes the fall in the numbers of people going missing from mental health wards in Oxfordshire.

"However, Mind wants to see an adequately resourced mental health care system that can treat people before they reach crisis and require hospitalisation."

A Thames Valley Police spokesman said the force did not comment about hospital security.