A Blackpool teacher told his superiors he was off sick when, in fact, he was in police custody after being found with cocaine in a nightclub, a disciplinary hearing has found.

Christopher Smith, then a teacher at Anchorsholme Primary School, also told bosses he was at hospital appointments when he was actually attending a meeting at a police station and, later, appearing in court.

Mr Smith, who lives in Marton but is no longer teaching, lost his job in the wake of the incident but has now received an official reprimand from the General Teaching Council for unacceptable professional conduct.

Tribunal chairman, Tony Neal, said: "In the view of the committee your conduct in repeatedly misleading the school and your professional colleagues as to the reasons for your absences from school, by lying, was behaviour that fell short of the standard expected by the public of a professional teacher and was behaviour which breached the standards of honesty and propriety expected of the profession.

"Further we consider that the circumstances in which you were found to be in possession of a Class A drug fell short of the standard expected of a registered teacher, in that it brought the profession into disrepute, notwithstanding the reasons you gave for confiscating the drug from another person."

But the committee said it was satisfied that Mr Smith's conduct had not directly affected pupils and accepted that he had shown insight into his feelings and expressed genuine regret.

He did not dispute the facts of the case, which was heard in Birmingham yesterday (Wednesday).

Mr Smith, who worked at the school for four years, was arrested in the early hours of February 7 2003 in a Blackpool nightclub and was found to be in possession of cocaine.

He asked a friend to telephone the school's assistant headteacher Hilary Newberry and report that he was sick.

He claimed in a back to work interview he had suffered food poisoning.

He later told the school's deputy headteacher, Judith Green, he had a hospital appointment on March 24 when he was due to report to police.

After meeting the police he claimed he needed to return to the hospital on March 26, the day he appeared in court to answer possession charges.

The reprimand will stay on his file for two years but he will not be removed from the teachers' register.