A nurse who tried to smuggle a baby into the UK from Nigeria has been struck off.

Gladys Effa-Heap, of Waynflete Road in Barton, and husband Dr Simon Heap were each handed 12-month suspended jail terms and told to do unpaid community work last year after admitting to facilitating a breach of the immigration law.

The conviction meant the Nursing and Midwifery Council held a hearing on Friday to determine whether the nurse was fit to practice.

The decision notice read: “The panel considered that the conviction related to a serious crime concerning a vulnerable baby, which without question brought the profession into disrepute and undermined public confidence in the profession.”