A doctor who sent a patient a naked photo of himself via WhatsApp after pestering her for sex has been struck off.

Dr Cyprian Okoro told the patient that he had fallen in love with her from the moment he saw her in the waiting room at Norwich's Timber Hill surgery during a consultation on August 8 2013.

He then asked her to go back to a hotel with him, before later sending text messages with her and a photo of himself naked via mobile messaging service WhatsApp.

When the woman said she would have to tell someone about what was happening, Dr Okoro told her no-one would believe her because she had mental health issues.

A tribunal by the General Medical Council (GMC) found many of the allegations made against Dr Okoro were proved, with a report saying he was 'evasive throughout cross-examination, always keen to return to the thrust of your own account when asked about other things, and you did not always respond to questions posed'.

It said the proven allegations were such a serious breach of trust that his name should erased from the medical register.

The report added: 'There were some aspects of your evidence which stretched the bounds of credibility.

'The tribunal did not find it credible that your contact with Patient A was purely a professional relationship.

'Sending a photograph to Patient A was entirely inconsistent with any form of professional relationship, as were comments asking her to join you in your hotel room and your sending of explicit texts and messages.'

In its conclusion, the GMC said: 'The tribunal has found that Dr Okoro behaved in a sexually motivated manner towards Patient A.

'Dr Okoro's sexually motivated behaviour was inappropriate and persistent from the outset.

'It was clear to the tribunal that Dr Okoro was not seeking to work in partnership with Patient A to deal with her problems or making her care his first concern.

'He was, instead, pursuing motives of his own. He used his professional position to pursue an inappropriate sexual and emotional relationship with Patient A, which amounted to a gross abuse of trust.

'The tribunal concluded that his behaviour amounted to serious misconduct,' adding: 'It is satisfied that Dr Okoro's misconduct is fundamentally incompatible with being a doctor.'