Theft head struck off

Grahame Arnold was given a prohibition order for two years

A former Shropshire head teacher, jailed for two years for stealing more than £80,000 from school funds, has been struck of the national teaching register.

Grahame Arnold, 58, from St Margaret's Drive, Wellington, was given a prohibition order for unacceptable professional misconduct by the General Teaching Council for England (GTCE) on Tuesday.

He did not appear at the hearing in Birmingham but a statement was read out in which Arnold pleaded for the opportunity to return to teaching.

His appeal was denied and the GTCE's teaching ban means he cannot apply to be reinstated to the register for at least two years.

Arnold was jailed last November for swindling thousands of pounds from the Adams School in Wem.

The former chairman of the county's Secondary Heads Association was later ordered to repay the stolen money but was then declared bankrupt.

Arnold has since been freed on licence but must wear an electronic tag.