AN ALDER Hey radiographer who sent sexually explicit text messages to a teenage boy has been struck off.

Adrian Prydden was sacked from the hospital after sending the messages to a 16-year-old member of a scout troop he was leader of, a Health Professions Council panel heard.

But Prydden, from Frodsham, was reinstated after an appeal.

Two years later, however, he pulled an 11-year-old boy’s underpants down and touched his genitals while performing an X-ray.

Hospital chiefs say he was sacked after they were notified of the text messages, sent in 2004.

But he was reinstated because his behaviour at work was not an issue, there was no evidence of any child protection concerns and no further action was taken by the police or child protection services.

A spokeswoman added that Prydden had not been charged with any criminal offence.

But, on April 13, 2006, he X-rayed the 11-year-old after a traffic accident – using a method which involved feeling the pubic bone to position the patient, rather than an accepted visual method.

Panel chair Mr Ian Crookall said: “The registrant had a professional responsibility working in a children’s hospital to ensure that his practice was sustainable. Further in his personal circumstances, given his training in the Scout movement, the registrant should have had a heightened awareness of child protection issues to protect the patient, himself and the Trust.

“The panel finds that the registrant’s breach of trust as regards to his leadership role in the Scouts cannot be isolated from his professional role.

“He has demonstrated a lack of judgment in dealing with children when in a position of responsibility. The panel finds misconduct.”

Dr Steve Ryan, acting chief executive at Alder Hey, said concerns were raised about Prydden’s conduct after the 2006 incident, when the boy’s family alerted the police.