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A senior teacher lied to pull a sickie from work – by saying he had run over and KILLED a girl in a car crash.

Head of music Derek McGlone, 42, even told bosses he felt his car wheels roll over the girl’s body to skip work.

He then branded colleagues “bitches” in drunken rant on Facebook after they reported him to education officials over his conduct.

After admitting the lie, McGlone said he was "embarrassed and sorry" about his actions and insisted he still wanted to teach, saying he had a "passion" for the profession.

McGlone appeared at a General Teaching Council Scotland (GTCS) hearing where the panel found his fitness to teach was impaired.

The teacher has a record for missing work after he told a deputy head that he was caught up in Iceland's ash cloud - despite being at home in Glasgow.

The hearing was told how his former colleagues at Calderhead High School in North Lanarkshire had complained that his comments on Facebook were abusive and threatening.

Representing himself, McGlone described himself as a "respected" head of music, art and design at the school when he made false statements about his absence between June, 9 2008 and May, 31 2011.

McGlone said: "I can give no reasonable explanation for my actions.

"I make no excuse for any of the three incidents - they are unforgivable, stupid and silly.

"Please believe me, I have had enough time to think about this."

(Image: Google)

McGlone admitted three charges brought by the GTCS, including making threatening and abusive comments towards former teaching colleagues on Facebook.

The former teacher said he had taken to Facebook in April 2011 in a "drunken rant" after discovering former colleagues had made statements about him to the GTCS.

He said: "I was dumbfounded and horrified at reading the statements made by staff.

"I can not explain how embarrassed and how sorry I feel about the comments being taken as threatening.

"I do not consider myself to be a threatening person - people would laugh if they heard me described as threatening.

"I do admit wholeheartedly the case against me and I have been previously of good character, nothing of these matters will happen again."

McGlone said he had been involved in touring productions of Evita and Scrooge since resigning as a teacher in 2011.

He said: "I have always had a passion to teach. I have tried to make a living doing other things but there is nothing that compares to teaching."

GTCS solicitor Niall McLean read out a statement from deputy head teacher at Calderhead High, Joyce Kilmartin.

She said there was a "number of occasions" Mr McGlone had told lies in order to take days off work.

Her statement added: "He started off telling a few silly lies.

"He then lied about knocking a girl over and killing her - he said he felt his car wheels running over her body."

The hearing panel, presided over by John Kilpatrick, concluded that McGlone’s fitness to teach was "impaired". They gave him a reprimand which will stay on his record for 12 months.