A deputy head teacher who stole thousands of pounds from a special needs school to buy a new patio for his garden and give himself a payrise has been struck off the teaching register.

Simon Hann, 42, conspired with head teacher Keith Davis, 51, to plunder £70,000 from Sundridge School near Portsmouth, over a period of four years.

The pair gained the money by making false expense claims and rewarded themselves with cash bonuses to make improvements to their homes.

Hann, who won an award for school leadership in 2004, pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiracy to defraud Hampshire County Council in 2006 and escaped jail getting a suspended sentence.

But yesterday the General Teaching Council (GTC) issued an order to prohibit him from teaching and found him guilty of “grave abuse” of his position as deputy head teacher and the trust of the school.

The GTC told Hann: “You personally benefited from these fraudulent activities to the extent of approximately £20,000 and were party to Hampshire County Council being defrauded of a further £70,000. These were funds that would otherwise have been used to support the education of the pupils of the school.”

Hann will remain off the teaching register for three years after which time he may reapply for teacher status.

Davis, who denied charges against him, was found guilty in 2007 and sentenced to 27 months in prison. During the trial, Nigel Lickley, prosecuting, said of the pair:"They dipped into the funds from time to time as it suited them and they provided a cover for each other."

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