A child care worker has been struck off after being unmasked as a paedophile.

Donal Ferrie avoided jail after being caught with indecent images of children and was instead handed a Community Payback Order with unpaid work.

Ferrie, of West Dunbartonshire, was also placed on the Sex Offenders' Register after pleading guilty to being in possession of the pictures between February and June 2018.

Ferrie, a former youth convener at a golf club with no previous history of misconduct, lost his job when the offence came to light and has not worked in the social service profession since.

Following his conviction and sentencing at Dumbarton Sheriff Court earlier this year, the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) removed him from the care register on Friday for what it said was a "serious disregard of the values and standards set out in the codes of practise".

The SSSC stated: "The conviction is in relation to indecent images of children and this is very serious.

"Your behaviour was not an error of judgement nor were you acting in good faith.

"You made a deliberate and conscious decision to have in your possession indecent images of children.

"This type of behaviour is fundamentally incompatible with working in the social service profession."

The SSSC noted that Ferrie's behaviour was not part of a single incident as it occurred over a four-month period.

The regulator also stated that there was a "risk and likelihood of repetition of similar behaviour being displayed".

The SSSC said that a removal order was the most appropriate sanction, stating: "The behaviour amounts to a breach of the fundamental tenets of the social service profession.

"The behaviour is so serious that we cannot consider there to be no current impairment.

"The behaviour demonstrates an abuse of trust and confidence placed in you as a social service worker.

"The behaviour would place a child or children at significant risk of emotional and psychological harm.

"If you were to resume work in the social services profession, there would be significant concerns about you returning to work with vulnerable people."