A bungling midwife who made a string of errors during a mother's gruelling nine-hour labour has been struck off the register.

Devastated mum Elizabeth Reader was left cradling her stillborn baby daughter after Peter Davies, 45, ignored a senior doctor's instructions.

Davies failed to check the girl's heart rate every 15 minutes despite the delivery's "high-risk" status and did not use the required specialist equipment.

His colleague Sandra Bickers, 45, was also found guilty of misconduct for ignoring medical instructions but escaped with a caution.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) heard that Mrs Reader was admitted to the Conquest Hospital in St Leonards on June 16 2004.

But it took an hour for Bickers to find Mrs Reader a room and another hour for her to check the baby's heart rate.

The bungling pair then decided not to seek advice from any senior colleagues as Mrs Reader writhed in agony.

After the baby was stillborn, Mrs Reader told how Davies did not even realise her baby Scarlett was blue when he put her on the mum's chest.

She and shocked husband Len Reader watched in horror as the midwife promised the baby would be fine.

Davies hit the alarm and the resuscitation team tried to revive Scarlett but it was too late.

Kicking Davies out of the profession, chairman Ann Kelly said: "He created a serious risk of harm to the mother and her baby.

"He has not accepted that he did anything seriously wrong and has taken no steps to remedy the deficiencies in his practice.

"His failings deprived the team of the opportunity to identify the risk at an early stage and take the appropriate action."

Turning to Bickers, who had earlier been cleared of failing to monitor the baby's heart rate and who confessed to forgetting to use the specialist equipment, the chairman said: "The fundamental failing in this case was her decision not to commence continuous heart monitoring.

"This clearly had the potential to cause the patient harm.

"However, although she took a course of action that was not in compliance with the medical plan of management at the time, we accept the decision was made in good faith.

"She genuinely and reasonably believed that her decision was in accordance with Mrs Readers wishes to have an active labour and be as mobile as possible during labour.

"When she heard Mrs Readers evidence in relation to monitoring, she accepted that she had been wrong and we accept that she has developed good insight into the nature of her mistakes."

The NMC earlier heard that Mrs Reader had also suffered a serious uterine tear and complained of severe pain following the birth and had to be rushed into surgery the next day.

Mrs Reader had previously had an emergency Caesarean section when pregnant with twins.

Davies, from Polegate, had sent in an 11-page statement to the panel in which he denied any misconduct.

He has since told the NMC he has left the profession altogether.

Speaking after the hearing the relieved Readers said they believed the decisions were correct.

Mrs Reader said: 'It's been three-and-a-half long years. Throughout, the midwives were blaming me for the death of my daughter saying I refused to be monitored. Finally this is some closure for us and we can at last have some peace."