A SOUTH Devon mental health nurse from Torbay Hospital's Haytor Unit who downloaded child pornography faces an anxious wait over the future of his career as his hearing ran out of time.

The proceedings were held up when the Nursing and Midwifery Council found a letter from the nurse, Andrew Ford, asking for the hearing to be held in private.

This decision should have been made by the panel at the start of the hearing but Rhys Davies, for the council, said he was not told of the letter until late afternoon.

In it, Ford raised concerns that his family were likely to be affected from his case being heard publicly.

Mr Davies opposed the application and the panel agreed the hearing should remain in public as the information was already in the public domain.

Torquay police found 25 images on Ford's home computer after seizing it as part of an investigation into a child pornography ring.

He later received a police caution for downloading indecent images of children in August, 2008, and was ordered to sign the sex offenders' register for two years.

He was suspended from his job as a senior staff nurse for the Devon Partnership NHS Trust, which runs the Haytor Unit.

Ford, who did not attend his disciplinary hearing in central London, must now wait until his case resumes on June 11 to find out his fate.