TWO North-East teachers, who were said to have engaged in inappropriate relations with a 15-year-old girl, have been banned from the profession.

Andrew Green and Daniel Cochrane were both teaching at Lord Lawson of Beamish Community School, in Birtley, near Chester-le-Street, at the time of the alleged misconduct, in 2011.

The girl involved in the case was not a pupil at the school.

Mr Green, who was a music teacher at the school, and Mr Cochrane, a PE teacher, were suspended when the allegations came to light, in 2011, and both subsequently resigned from their posts the following year.

Both were accused of unacceptable professional conduct, or conduct that may bring the teaching profession into disrepute and their cases were considered by a professional conduct panel hearing, staged by the National College for Teaching and Leadership.

Neither attended or was represented at the four-day hearing before a three-strong panel in Coventry earlier this month.

The panel found that Mr Green, now 32, engaged in sexual activity, and sexually-related communications with the girl, including sending explicit pictures of himself to her, but was not satisfied that he was aware of her true age when some of this activity took place.

It noted he has since, “offered his regret and sincere apologies”, and has a previous “good history”.

But as, “a serious departure from professional standards and conduct”, likely to bring the profession into disrepute, it recommended he be prohibited from teaching indefinitely.

Mr Cochrane, now 38, was found to have exchanged sexually-explicit text messages with the girl, sent her a topless picture of himself, engaged in inappropriate physical contact with her.

The panel was also “satisfied”, having considered all the evidence, that Mr Cochrane knew she was aged under 16, and, as in the case of Mr Green, found that the conduct was, “sexually motivated”.

Although the panel “noted his previous good history”, it stated that in an email to the case presenting officer, on July 6, there was “no evidence of insight or remorse for his action.”

As both “unacceptable professional conduct”, which, “may bring the profession into disrepute,” the panel also recommended an indefinite prohibition order in Mr Cochrane’s case.

The recommended prohibitions have both since been confirmed by the Secretary of State.

** Mr Cochrane, of Whickham, Gateshead, who denied causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, was cleared of the charge following a unanimous jury verdict, after a trial, at Durham Crown Court, in January 2013.