TWO former nursery workers who were wrongly accused of child abuse are planning to report a North-East paediatrician to the medical disciplinary body.

Dawn Reed, 31, and Christopher Lillie, 37, said they were brought to the brink of suicide after an independent report commissioned by Newcastle City Council branded them paedophiles.

The pair, who worked at Shieldfield Nursery in Newcastle, were each awarded £200,000 in libel damages after suing the four authors of the report called Abuse in the Early Years.

They are considering lodging a complaint with the General Medical Council against Dr Camille San Lazaro, a consultant at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle, and a senior lecturer in paediatric forensic medicine at Newcastle University.

At a High Court hearing earlier this month, Mr Justice Eady ruled that the 1998 report contained untrue allegations of abuse and said the inquiry was a "shambles".

Dr Lazaro examined 53 children and reported several findings of abuse. But at the High Court, she admitted there were inaccuracies in what she had written and she had given "exaggerated" accounts to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board after acting as an "advocate" to help parents with claims.

Richard Osborne, Ms Reed's and Mr Lillie's solicitor, said of the complaint: "It's not out of vengeance, we just think that the GMC needs to know the position as we see it."

Len Fenwick, chief executive of Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Trust, said the trust was still considering the judgement. He said Dr Lazaro was an international expert in child abuse, a highly committed, caring professional who had worked in paediatrics for 30 years.

Dr Lazaro was not available for comment.