This is the psychiatric hospital where John Hogan has spent the past 16 months of his life.

He was transferred to the Dafni-Attica Psychiatric Hospital on the outskirts of Athens after being cleared of murdering his son Liam in late January last year.

Some 10km from the heart of the capital, the hospital stands off a busy eight-lane dual carriage- way feeding a constant stream of traffic to and from Athens.

Brown sun-scorched mountains serve as a back-drop, with olive trees and parched grass to the front.

It has a rundown feel, with dilapidated buildings, overgrown verges and dogs sleeping in any shady spot they can find.

In the blistering 35C June heat, within the 10ft tall perimeter fence, elderly patients shuffle around lost in their private worlds.

It has an air of sad tranquillity, where vulnerable people can feel secure from the hustle and bustle of the modern world.

The Post visited the hospital as Hogan prepared to leave.

During his rehabilitation, Hogan had been photographed sun-bathing in a communal area of the sprawling complex, which is home to 500 in-patients and 700 out-patients receiving psychiatric treatment.

Hospital authorities said Hogan was "completely well" and free to fly home to Bristol at any time.

The 35-year-old had been incarcerated in Greece for nearly three years, spending some of his time in hospital and some in jail before his trial.

At the trial in January last year, a Greek court found Hogan was temporarily insane when he killed Liam, as opposed to being guilty of murder. The court ordered Hogan to remain in Greece for psychiatric rehabilitation, and at the end of last month, another court gave the tiler, from Bradley Stoke, the all-clear to return to the UK after 16 months of care.

Hospital director Athanasios Kosmopoulos said Hogan had been "waiting for the bureaucracy to be concluded" after being given permission to leave, with diplomatic papers sent to be filled in by the British embassy among the formalities which had to be concluded.

Mr Kosmopoulos said the British Embassy had exercised a "no comment policy" regarding the Hogan case, on the request of his family.

"I don't think you will change the approach of this delicate issue," he said. "Mr Hogan is in a great emotional condition.

"He is completely well.

"He has some problems with his leg, which was injured in the fall, but he is improving from the orthopaedic point of view."

Hogan's release papers had to be formally signed by the sanctioning judges before being delivered to all concerned parties and the British embassy, signalling that he could be released.