A TEACHER sacked for “inappropriate” behaviour at a school prom two years ago has lost a battle to prove he should have kept his job.

Richard Hutchison was given the boot from Johnstone High by Renfrewshire Council chiefs after he got drunk, removed his trousers and kissed a pupil at the end-of-year event in 2015.

Earlier this year, the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) ruled he could continue to teach following a hearing at which he admitted all the charges against him, but insisted he was not unfit to lead a classroom.

Now a tribunal has ruled council bosses were correct to dismiss the 58-year-old former head of science.

Tribunal judge Robert Gall said Mr Hutchison’s behaviour amounted to “gross misconduct”.

In response to Mr Gall’s judgement, a Renfrewshire Council spokesman told The Gazette: “We acknowledge the outcome of the tribunal.”

Following Mr Hutchison’s initial suspension from the school, pupils started a petition in the hope education chiefs would reinstate him.

Hundreds of supporters signed the petition, while others took to social media sites to show their support.

Facebook posts at the time described him as “an amazing teacher” and branded his dismissal “ridiculous”.

But Facebook comments following the recent tribunal took a different tone, with some saying the result “serves him right” and others saying he wasn’t a good role model, though some still said he was a “legend”.

The GTCS heard earlier this year that Mr Hutchison had intended to drive home after the prom, at the Burnhouse Manor Hotel, in Beith, but instead accepted an invitation from male pupils to sleep on their floor.

A photograph emerged the day after the event, showing Mr Hutchison sitting on a chair in his pants, and he was suspended after the image was uploaded to mobile messaging service Snapchat.

The GTCS declined to comment.