A PARAMEDIC who was caught selling stolen life-saving medical equipment on Facebook has been struck off.

Andrew Barker, 49, used a fake profile to peddle two defibrillators from his ambulance service — each worth £18,500 — for £2,500 apiece.

A disciplinary hearing heard how the Physio Control Lifepak 15 devices were listed for sale on Facebook by "Andrew Dewi" in February last year.

But Barker, from Derby, was caught red-handed when he went to trade the kit.

Barker claimed he bought them from a man “with cash for a friend” but their serial numbers matched those missing from the East Midlands Ambulance Service.

Magistrates in his home town of Derby jailed him for 26 weeks last October after he was convicted of handling stolen goods.

And now, the married dad has been banned from the medical profession and accused of putting lives in jeopardy.

Barker was branded “deplorable” as he was struck off by a Health and Care Professions Council tribunal.

Panel chair Lesley White said: "The medical equipment was the property of the NHS. Mr Barker attempted to sell them for personal financial gain.

“Members of the public were deprived of these items of life-saving medical equipment and there was also a potential cost to the public purse.

"The public would regard the behaviour of any paramedic who handled defibrillator equipment which he suspected to be stolen to be deplorable."

Barker, who now drives lorries for a living, denied knowing the devices were stolen and insisted his jail term was “overly harsh”.

He resigned from East Midlands Ambulance Service in March 2018.

And he previously told the Sun on Sunday of his "deep regret", adding: "I am now looking to the future and wish to put this whole episode behind me for the sake of my family.”

A spokesman for EMAS said: “As an NHS organisation we take a zero-tolerance approach towards anyone who commits this type of crime

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