Elizabeth Davies struck off for two years for spraying pupils in her half-Bangladeshi class if she said she smelled curry

This article is more than 9 years old

This article is more than 9 years old

A teacher has been banned from classrooms after spraying children of Asian origin with air freshener if she said she smelled curry.

Elizabeth Davies, 48, was struck off for at least two years for the way she treated children in her primary school class.

A disciplinary hearing was told that Davies would say: "There is a waft coming from paradise" before using the air freshener. She was accused of having a "smug look" as she sprayed children in the class, where half the pupils were of Bangladeshi origin.

Teaching assistant Wendy Roe alleged she used the words "black bastards" in a low whisper on more than one occasion. Asked if she thought Davies was discriminating against the children on the grounds of their race, Roe said: "I think so. I feel she had a problem with them."

Davies denied five allegations of spraying aerosol at pupils, washing pupils' hands in disinfectant and making children stand on newspaper after they accidentally wet themselves.

She was also accused of asking her support staff to spray the children at the 260-pupil Hafod primary school in Swansea, south Wales.

The disciplinary panel found her guilty of each of these things. The panel chair, Peter Williams, said there was insufficient evidence to say that Davies used the term "black bastards".

Davies, of Neath, was sacked from her £34,000-a-year job over "child protection concerns".

She did not attend the General Teaching Council for Wales hearing in Cardiff but was represented by her union.

Her representative Peggy George said she was "surprised" by the racial allegations. She said: "It has never been raised as an issue before."

The panel chairman, Peter Williams, said: "The committee is satisfied that the conduct of Mrs Davies fell short of the standard of a registered teacher and therefore amounts to unprofessional conduct.

"The totality of the evidence is that Mrs Davies used the air freshener on the children and this was a common occurrence."

She was removed from the teaching register and told it will be two years before she can reapply.

Williams said: "Her behaviour strikes at the very heart of what it is to be a teacher.

"Her behaviour showed disregard for young and vulnerable pupils. There was clear abuse of her position of trust. She has shown no regret."