The former England footballer Stan Collymore has been dropped by the BBC after revelations about his private life.

BBC Radio Five Live said it would no longer use Collymore as a match summariser after he admitted trawling car parks for casual sex.

Collymore said that he was a participant in a sexual activity known as "dogging", in which strangers meet to observe or take part in sexual encounters. He had been ensnared by a tabloid newspaper.

The BBC had been criticised for hiring the former Liverpool star who once punched Ulrika Jonsson, a former girlfriend and was counselled for depression during his career.

Collymore was building a media career and according to his agent, was due to be a guest on BBC One's Question Time later this month. He will not now appear.

A spokesman for Radio Five Live said: "Stan Collymore has been used as a contributor. He does not have a contract with the BBC and we have no plans to use him in the near future."

Simon Kennedy, Collymore's agent, said the footballer had contacted Peter Salmon, the head of BBC Sport, to plead for his future.

Mr Kennedy said: "Stan has been a very silly boy but he has not broken any laws. I feel as though the BBC are being very hypocritical in their approach. They they have had their share of people, both well known faces and senior executives, who have done worse."

Collymore, 33, who is married, revealed that he had driven to several sites near his home where people watch each other having sex in their cars.

He said: "What I have done is disgusting and I'm so ashamed, but I'm only human. I can only beg for forgiveness."

The Times first revealed the popularity of dogging last year. Thousands of people each week drive to deserted countryside car parks or woodland. Meetings are set up through websites or by texting. Some couples who take part are said to enjoy being watched by strangers.

Collymore approached reporters from The Sun, posing as a couple, to take part in consensual sexual activity.

Once considered one of England's most lethal strikers, Collymore's career petered out at Leicester and Real Oviedo in Spain after a series or disputes with managers.