CANTERBURY city councillor Christian Farthing has been suspended for a further three years from practising as a chiropractor.

The governing body, the General Chiropractic Council, says it has imposed the maximum ban "to protect the public and safeguard the standing of the profession".

The ruling came this week after a review of the councillor's existing nine-month suspension for professional misconduct imposed last May. At that earlier hearing, 13 breaches of the GCC's code of practice were recorded against him.

The breaches recorded against Dr Farthing included exaggerating the gravity of patients' conditions; unnecessarily exposing patients to radiation; attempting to enforce the need to attend lengthy courses of treatment and exaggerating the consequences of failing to have regular chiropractic care.

Since his first suspension, Dr Farthing has opened the Ideal Spine Centre at his home in Whitstable Road, Blean, from where he is operating as an independent back specialist. But he is prevented by law from describing himself or implying that he is a chiropractor.

The GCC employed a private detective to investigate Dr Farthing's activities and now says it takes a serious view of his failure to change his style of practice, particularly with his use of X-rays.

Dr Farthing, who is a Lib Dem councillor for Westgate ward, did not attend the hearing in London on Monday but submitted a letter to the panel.

In his summing up, GCC chief executive Gregory Price said: "We have not had any indication that our advice has been heeded and the tenor of your letter indicated to us that your attitude is contrary to our recommendations. A suspension order is a very serious sanction intended to protect the public for its duration.

"We are concerned to hear from a witness that you are practising as a 'spinal specialist' in a practice which is taking X-rays.

"In view of our duty to protect the public and to safeguard the standing of the chiropractic profession, we now impose a further suspension order for the maximum extension available to us today."

Dr Farthing has been told he has 28 days to appeal. He did not appeal against his first suspension.