THE head of Bournemouth University has said he is “proud” of the graduate who went undercover to film abuse at a residential hospital for Panorama.

Vice chancellor John Vinney praised Joe Casey after he spent five weeks secretly recording at the Winterbourne View home on the edge of Bristol.

Police have arrested four people and the Care Quality Commission (CQC), had been asked to conduct an urgent investigation.

Mr Casey graduated from BU with a degree in multimedia journalism in 2006 before going on to work for Panorama, the BBC’s flagship investigative programme.

He told the BBC filming the abuse was the hardest thing he had done “These are all people’s sons, daughters, parents, aunties, uncles,” he said. “These are all people who have got families… the families themselves do not know what goes on there.”

A university spokesman said: “It was such a worthwhile piece of work.”

Hospital operator Castlebeck has apologised unreservedly and suspended 13 employees.

Mr Casey’s film exposed people with autism being hit, slapped, doused with water, dragged around and restrained.

“The targets had no way of defending themselves or speaking out. Anyone who questioned the abuse met a wall of silence,” he said.

To get the footage, he worked 12-hour days on a weekly wage of £306.

He saw people with autism mistreated, especially a woman called Simone with a genetic disorder.

“I sincerely hope that what I witnessed Simone and others endure during my time undercover will help spark and inform a renewed debate on how we as a society treat our most at-risk,” he said.

The media school is one of Bournemouth University’s top rated departments and is home to Britain’s only Centre for Excellence in Media Practice.