A NURSE who smuggled vitamins, soap and even baby wipes into Freiston's North Sea Camp prison to hand out to inmates has been struck off.

Sharon Walker, 40, arranged for the parcels to be addressed to her so they would not be searched, the Nursing and Midwifery Council heard.

But the security breach came to light when colleagues complained that she was distributing the packages to prisoners at the category D jail.

The packages turned out to be vitamin tablets and other items that were sent in, including baby wipes and medicated soap.

Walker, who worked as acting head of healthcare between 2005 and 2006, later insisted they were harmless health supplements sent in by the families of prisoners.

But the panel was told it was still a breach of security as the packages could have contained anything.

Former head of security Carl Kisby said: "I received information from a staff member that suggested items were being distributed to prisoners by Walker.

"I started an investigation and found that pills were being sent in," he said.

"I asked her about it and she said she received parcels from family members and passed them on to prisoners.

"She said the pills were supplementary health tablets, vitamins, for the prisoners. She seemed unconcerned by it all.

"Without testing them they could have been absolutely anything."

Walker denied receiving packages in the healthcare department containing items for prisoners in her name, which she would then distribute.

She also denied recycling medication from one prisoner to the other and signing a psychology report for the parole board which she was not authorised to do.

But, finding her guilty of misconduct, NMC panel chairman Simon Evans said her actions had undermined the good reputation of the profession.

He said: "The registrant's practice of receiving packages containing items for prisoners which emanated from unauthorised sources, namely families, and distributing them to prisoners is a serious departure from the standards of the code of conduct.

"She did not justify the confidence which the public had a right to expect from her and these were vulnerable patients whose passage through perhaps the last stages of their imprisonment was particularly important.

"Confidence in the council would be undermined if the registrant were not removed from the register."