A STOURBRIDGE nurse who carried out sex attacks on two young female patients while they were receiving treatment has been jailed for three years.

Judge Martin Walsh at Wolverhampton Crown Court told 30-year-old Michael Bednarski his conduct had been a "gross breach of trust" adding that a prison sentence had to be passed to "maintain public confidence in the nursing profession".

He said it was an aggravating feature of the case that Bednarski maintained his denials after the first attack in Liverpool in 2008 which enabled him to strike again at Russells Hall Hospital, Dudley, in 2012.

The judge said: "Confidence in the medical profession is absolutely paramount."

And he stressed patients had to be able to trust the "moral integrity" of those people looking after them while they were in hospital.

Bednarski was a student nurse when he carried out the first sex attack at a Liverpool hospital on a 15-year-old girl and he later maintained his actions were "part of a legitimate medical procedure" - the court heard.

Then, while he was working as a qualified nursing assistant in Dudley, he sexually assaulted another 15-year-old girl who became concerned about the level of attention she was receiving from Bednarski.

Benjamin Close, prosecuting, said they were both vulnerable victims because of their personal circumstances and they later told police how badly they had been affected by the sex attacks.

Bednarski, of Brettell Lane, Amblecote, admitted two charges of sexual assault and was told by the judge he had abused his position to carry out the "gratuitous" attacks.

He further ruled Bednarski, who walked into the court on sticks, had to register as a Sex Offender indefinitely and he also made him the subject of a ten-year Sexual Offenders Protection Order.

Gerry Bermingham, defending, said it had taken Bednarski a long time to come to terms with the matter and his abject apology - and he told the court his client had a number of medical difficulties.

Mr Bermingham added: "He is a man with complex and multiple problems. He is never going to work again in that field and he is never going to be a danger to anyone."

Bednarski showed no reaction as he was taken away to begin his sentence.