The Italian who tried to get the coronavirus vaccine using a fake arm so he could get the health pass has been exposed as an Italian dentist who says his life has been ruined as a result.

The dentist used a silicone and foam arm that he bought on Amazon in the failed bid to fake getting the coronavirus vaccine at the Biver Banca di Biella vaccination centre in the city of Biella, in the northern Italian region of Piedmont, on Thursday 2nd December.

But he has since been named as dentist Guido Russo, 57, who told journalists: “You ruined my life. Go Away. I’ll call the police.”

He was already known for his anti-vaccination stance and a sign on the door to his practice in Biella reads: “The presentation of the green pass is exclusively VOLUNTARY.”

But he has reportedly been suspended from the Order of Doctors recently although it was not clear if that was because of his stance on vaccines, or his attempt to get a Green Pass illegally, resulting in him being investigated for fraud.

Filippa Bua, the nurse who foiled the man’s attempt, said: “He was a distinct person, like so many others, even smiling, which rarely happens of late.”

The nurse said: “It was late in the morning of a well-organised day, but very intense from an emotional point of view because those who do not want the vaccine are showing up.” She explained that there are people who are crying, screaming and swearing.

But she said that she realised something was wrong when it came to giving the dentist the vaccine. She said: “I immediately realised that something was wrong. We are professionals, but such imaginative things had never happened to me.”

She said: “When I touched the arm to feel it before the injection, I realised it was rubber foam.”

Although it was very similar to real skin, the colour and texture of the arm made the health worker suspicious. She asked the patient to show her his whole arm. She said: “He was wearing a stage bust and, when I discovered it, he even tried to make a joke.”

She said that he allegedly asked her to turn a blind eye to his foiled plan and let him go. But she refused and reported him to a doctor on duty.

The Governor of Piedmont, Alberto Cirio, said: “It is incredible news, it seems like a joke but there is nothing to laugh about: it is a very serious case.”