A female primary school teacher who sent flirtatious Instagram messages to an 11-year-old pupil has been banned from the classroom after being found guilty of "unacceptable professional conduct".

Kay Elizabeth Hollingsworth, 31, who taught at Notley Green Primary School in Braintree, Essex sent the boy, who she called Dimples, a series of highly inappropriate messages.

Among the messages were: "About to have a shower #mental image for you lol", "U probs distracted thinking about how fabulous I am" - "Going to bed now dimplesxx" and "I split up with that guy back in October so I'm single and ready to mingle lol."