A Cambridgeshire-based teacher has been struck off following a misconduct hearing in June.

Billy Hart, who taught at the City of Peterborough Academy, paid two young boys £10 for videos, via Snapchat, of one of them tied up.

Mr Hart was the Instructor of Maths at the Peterborough school and was also a Cricket Coach at a sports club. 

In March 2021, the mother of a child at the club contacted the Safeguarding Officer at the Cricket Club, informing them that her child had said that Mr Hart had contacted two of his friends on Snapchat. Neither of these children went to the club.

The mother told the Officer that Mr Hart had asked them for pictures of one of them tied up, in exchange for £10. She also stated that the two children met up with Mr Hart at an undisclosed garage where he gave them £10.

Later that month, Mr Hart told the academy that he'd been questioned by the police in relation to the incident.

The Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) informed the Principal of the school about the allegations, stating that Mr Hart had received the images from the children and he'd paid them for them.

Mr Hart was suspended from the school, and in June 2021 he was arrested on suspicion of causing or inciting the exploitation of a child.

He was released on bail under investigation, and on July 19, 2021, the police notified the Academy that no further action was being taken against Mr Hart.

The Academy did not re-employ Mr Hart and he was referred to the Teaching Regulation Agency in September 2021.

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The misconduct panel viewed evidence including the transcript of a police interview of one of the children targeted by Mr Hart. The child told the police that he'd had Mr Hart on Snapchat "for ages" and that he would "randomly message" him.

The panel also saw the Snapchat screenshot of Mr Hart asking one child to tie the second child up. The child sent the video on Snapchat and Mr Hart asked for it to be sent again, as he could only view it once on the social media app before it was deleted.

The video showed one of the children tying a blanket round the legs of another.

In an interview with the England and Wales Cricket Board, Mr Hart admitted to paying the child for the video. He said that he'd previously told the boys they could do voluntary work at an agency he ran which may result in £5 or £10 in payment. 

Mr Hart said that while he asked for the video as a "joke", he gave the children the £10 still because "he wanted to show them that he was trustworthy and a man of his word".

The misconduct panel found those allegations made against Mr Hart to be proven in their entirety, including the allegation that the messages were "of a sexual nature".

An allegation was made against Mr Hart stating that he sent a photograph of himself in the bath to both, or just one of the boys. The panel did not find this allegation to be proven as they saw no evidence to support it.

The panel took into account that prior to the incident, no concerns had been raised about Mr Hart's conduct or capability at either the Academy or the Cricket Club.

Sarah Buxcey, the decision maker on the panel, ruled that Mr Hart is banned from teaching indefinitely. He can apply for a prohibition order to be set aside, but not until 2027.