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An acclaimed surgeon who claimed on television that he lost his legs to sepsis was in fact found to have deliberately caused his own injuries with dry ice to satisfy a sexual fetish.

Neil Hopper appeared on ITV’s This Morning to talk about his supposed battle with sepsis, saying he developed the illness after a family camping trip. But a court has now heard he inflicted damage on his own legs before later cashing in through insurance fraud.

Hopper, 49, was jailed for 32 months after admitting fraud worth more than £466,000 ($AU960,000).

Truro Crown Court heard he used dry ice to freeze his legs to the point they required amputation, something prosecutors described as a long-held ambition connected to a sexual interest.

Hopper intended to make a gain of £235,622

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