A DISGRACED nurse who was jailed for defrauding £20,000 from his employers had his pleas to be allowed to work again rejected.

John Bulfin, 46, pocketed the cash after altering timesheets to claim for hours he had not worked, the Nursing and Midwifery council heard at a hearing on Tuesday.

But his dishonesty landed him with a 15-month prison sentence after he was convicted of five charges of obtaining property by deception at Preston Crown Court in June 1998.

Bulfin was struck off the nursing register in March 2000 for misconduct as a result.

The tribunal heard he had been a senior nurse running his shift at the Langdale unit, a medium secure mental facility in Preston when he began the fraud.

When interviewed by police, he admitted he had submitted fraudulent claims since September 1995 for sums totalling more than £20,000.

The former nurse, who now works as a market trader in Preston, told the hearing he had also started doing night shifts as a care assistant at an old people's home in the city.

He said: "I think I have learned my lesson and would not deviate again.

"At the time, I had just been divorced and I was looking after my kids as well, which I don't do any more. I spent 20 years as a nurse, and I think I was a pretty good nurse. My nursing care was always exemplary.

"I am extremely sorry for what I have done and I don't think I would do it again.

But the committee rejected his pleas to be allowed to practise again after a brief deliberation.

Announcing the decision, chairman Angela Norman said: "Nurses work in positions of trust in regard to vulnerable people. We have to regard the scale of the offence and the abuse of your position of trust.

"The need to maintain public trust and confidence in the profession is paramount, and therefore we cannot accede to your applications."