A British surgeon has admitted assaulting two patients by burning his initials into their livers during transplant operations.

Simon Bramhall pleaded guilty to two counts of assault, in a case a prosecutor called "without legal precedent in criminal law".

Bramhall used an argon beam coagulator, which seals bleeding blood vessels with an electric beam, to mark his initials on the organs.

The marks left by argon are not thought to be harmful to the organ, and normally disappear.

Prosecutor Tony Badenoch said the brandings were "an intentional application of unlawful force to a patient whilst anesthetised", and an abuse of Bramhall's position.

The 53-year-old surgeon was first suspended from Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham in 2013 after one of his colleagues spotted the initials on an organ during follow-up surgery.

Bramhall then resigned in 2014 after disciplinary proceedings.

Speaking after Bramhall's suspension, Patient Concern's Joyce Robins said: "This is a patient we are talking about, not an autograph book."

Bramhall is free on bail.

He is due to be sentenced on January 12 at Birmingham Crown Court in central England.

AP