A Hampshire teacher who declared his love for a pupil and invited her to stay at his home has been banned from the profession.

Alexander Barker, 24, started working as a newly-qualified maths teacher at Redbridge Community School in July 2015 where he began speaking and meeting with the student outside of school, exchanging hundreds of Facebook messages over a 10-day period.

Mr Barker, who left the school in Cuckmere Lane in February 2016, admitted to a teaching conduct panel that he hugged the pupil and invited her to stay at his home while his wife was away.

In his evidence to the panel, he said that he sought to keep his communication with the pupil a secret from his wife, as he anticipated that she would have told him to report them.

He further admitted to giving the pupil a necklace as a gift, telling her he loved her and making a threat to “kill a person” on her behalf.

Mr Barker also confirmed he failed to disclose the student’s fears about being “stalked” outside the school.

However, he denied that his actions were sexually motivated.

The panel of the National College for Teaching and Leadership also saw 154 pages of Facebook messages between Mr Barker and the pupil, which continued until March 2016.

It concluded that Mr Barker had engaged in unacceptable professional conduct and recommended the imposition of a prohibition order by the Secretary of State.

Jason Ashley, headteacher at Redbridge Community School, said: “When it was reported to our safeguarding lead, Mr Barker was removed from the school within the hour. We reported the incident to the police, who felt there was insufficient evidence to pursue the investigation.

“We took further legal advice and consequently the school reported the incident to the National College of Teaching and Leadership, who held a civil hearing which included four members of teaching staff who acted as witnesses for the prosecution.

“As the head teacher of Redbridge Community School I am delighted that Mr Barker was given a prohibition order.

“It can clearly be seen that we are not afraid to take on safeguarding issues as our students are our primary concern.

“We are very pleased that our robust safeguarding service has resulted in this prohibition order and Mr Barker is unlikely to teach again.”