A LEADING breast cancer expert from Kent has been struck off by the General Medical Council for downloading child pornography from the internet.

Dr Stephen Humphreys, 50, was caught with the photos of naked schoolgirls on his computer after detectives raided his home at St Michaels, Tenterden, in June 2004 following on a tip-off from the FBI.

The consultant histo-pathologist confessed he had used his credit card to subscribe to websites and access pictures of children as young as 11.

But officers were unable to work out the scale of his because the divorced father-of-two admitted he had burnt these personal laptops used to surf the web.

Humphreys confessed to viewing Ukrainian websites while working late at night alone in his laboratory at the Preston Hall Hospital, Aylesford.

The senior pathologist had used the password `foetuses’ to log on to a string of porn sites with titles such as `Ukrainian Angels’, `Ukrainian Nymphets’ and `Lolita’.

The doctor claimed he started looking at porn after his wife left him to live in Manchester and he began drinking.

Humphreys was later given a caution by Kent Police for the offence of making indecent pseudo photographs of a child between 1998 and June 24 2004.

Alison Foster, QC, for the GMC said: “Dr Humphreys admitted the downloading of child pornography and admitted destroying by burning three personal laptops.”

Humphreys claimed he disposed of the machines because he was `ashamed’ of his activities.

Miss Foster said: “On any view this is a very serious matter. He has by his own actions disabled any proper investigation in the matters complained of.

“This amounts to a very serious departure from the standards of behaviour expected of a medical practitioner and is extremely serious in criminal law."

FULL STORY IN THIS WEEK'S KENTISH EXPRESS