Dr Steven Forde followed a young woman wearing a mini skirt around a city centre, using a James Bond-style spy camera to film her legs, a tribunal heard . A senior doctor who followed a young woman dressed in a mini skirt around a city centre and filmed her using a secret camera hidden in his satchel 'had intended to take pictures of forest scenery', a tribunal heard. Dr Steven Forde, a consultant anaesthetist, was spotted acting suspiciously in York by a security guard, who called in support from the police. When asked what he was doing, Dr Forde, a former RAF medic who once served in Bosnia and Kosovo, is said to have admitted he had been filming the woman for five minutes, using a telescopic lens which protruded through a concealed hole at the bottom of the bag. The married father-of-three, who works at York District Hospital, also told officers that he had filmed women secretively before and that he had a stash of images at home, a medical tribunal heard today. A remote switch used to control the camera was found in the bag's front pocket, it was said. Dr Forde, from Haxby, near York, appeared today for the beginning of a Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service fitness to practice hearing in Manchester, where he faces suspension from the medical register if the allegation of misconduct is proved and deemed to have been sexually motivated. Admitting he had filmed the woman, he told the hearing that he had originally meant to take pictures of trees. 'I was looking for forest scenery. I wanted spring flowers, that sort of scene. I then went to the city centre,' he said. The doctor, 45, claimed the incident followed three 'stressful events' in his professional life, including a a formal complaint made against him by a patient who said he was 'rude and aggressive'. He said he had to give evidence at the GMC after a medical student he was in charge of continued onto third year even though he hadn't been signed off. In a third incident he said he had to help transfer a three-week-old baby to Leeds hospital but the baby died. He said: 'I felt like my whole world had collapsed and this was the end and that's it. 'I found the experience one of the most stressful things I've ever done. Those legal practises - most of us are not used to this sort of environment. It doesn't justify what I did, but in my mind the stresses inhibited me from dealing with the behaviour that was causing this.' Explaining how he filmed the young woman, he said: 'I had the camera with me. I only took one lens. It is the lens for pictures in the medium to far distance. 'The camera was in the bottom of the bag. It was a messenger type bag with a side pouch and the camera in the bottom with an aperture cut at the front of the bag for the lens to see through and the lens was covered by a filter and there was a digital viewfinder plugged into the camera and that was hidden in the side pouch.' When asked by his lawyer Mark Ainsworth why the lens was covered by a filter and looking through the front of the bag, he added: 'To conceal the end of it so if somebody looked they wouldn't see what was behind it.' The bag used by Dr Forde, who works at York Hospital (pictured) but is currently suspended, contained a camera with a telescopic lens, a medical tribunal was told . He said he used the video mode on his camera to take moving footage and added: 'I took footage of a woman walking down the pavement through the centre of town. 'The security didn't see me recording the footage at the time but I had already recorded it before he saw me stop on the corner of the street. I went to record a woman walking towards me and I stopped and started to set up the camera up to record. 'It was quite a long sequence I had to go through to switch it on and start recording, switch the viewfinder on and try and find the subject then focus manually with my hand in the bag. So I had gone through this and by which time had changed my mind and decided not to film. I switched it off and carried on walking. 'Then I saw a man run across the street shouting "I'm detaining you for voyeurism" and I believed he must have been watching me earlier in the day when I had recorded the footage. He saw me fiddling with my bag and then I switched it off. 'The phrase legs, skirt and body came from the security man. He told police that's what I was filming but I was also recording her hands, head, feet, fingers - it was a full-length video.' He accepted he hadn't asked the woman for her permission to take the film. Dr Forde was originally charged with outraging public decency by using the concealed camera to take pictures of the woman's legs without her consent. However, he was acquitted of the charge on the day of his trial when prosecutors offered no evidence. Admitting he had filmed the woman, Dr Forde told the tribunal that he had originally meant to take pictures of 'forest scenery' Representing the General Medical Council (GMC), Natasha Tahta said: 'On May 9 last year, Dr Forde was seen by a security guard in York city centre acting suspiciously. 'He was found with a satchel canvas bag which had been adapted to contain a camera with a telescopic lens which protruded between a concealed hole at the bottom. There was a hand-held remote fire switch in the front pouch. 'Two police community support officers attended and they found Dr Forde carrying the bag containing the hidden camera with the telescopic lens and spoke to him. He admitted that he had been filming a young lady for about five minutes and he had done this before and had more images of other females at home. 'In due course he was charged with an offence of outraging public decency then acquitted when the CPS offered no evidence. 'The conduct amounts to misconduct as he videoed the legs and skirt and the lady was in a public place.' Dr Forde, who qualified as a doctor in 1991, was suspended  from practicing as a doctor on an interim basis by the GMC after the allegation was made. He qualified as an anaesthetist in 1999 and for several years has held a post in York Hospital's anaesthetics department. He has also worked at York's Clifton Park Hospital. The doctor will give evidence this afternoon. The hearing continues. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.
Dr Steven Forde filmed a woman's legs using a spy camera, tribunal hears .
Anaesthetist was seen following woman wearing mini skirt around York .
Camera was hidden in the bottom of his bag, Dr Forde admitted to police .
But he claims he had planned on taking pictures of 'forest scenery'
He told officers he had a stash of images of women at home, it was claimed .
Dr Forde was charged with outraging public decency but was acquitted .
He now faces a medical tribunal to decide whether he is fit to practice .
Dr Steven Forde followed a young woman wearing a mini skirt around a city centre, using a James Bond-style spy camera to film her legs, a tribunal heard . A senior doctor who followed a young woman dressed in a mini skirt around a city centre and filmed her using a secret camera hidden in his satchel 'had intended to take pictures of forest scenery', a tribunal heard. Dr Steven Forde, a consultant anaesthetist, was spotted acting suspiciously in York by a security guard, who called in support from the police. When asked what he was doing, Dr Forde, a former RAF medic who once served in Bosnia and Kosovo, is said to have admitted he had been filming the woman for five minutes, using a telescopic lens which protruded through a concealed hole at the bottom of the bag. The married father-of-three, who works at York District Hospital, also told officers that he had filmed women secretively before and that he had a stash of images at home, a medical tribunal heard today. A remote switch used to control the camera was found in the bag's front pocket, it was said. Dr Forde, from Haxby, near York, appeared today for the beginning of a Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service fitness to practice hearing in Manchester, where he faces suspension from the medical register if the allegation of misconduct is proved and deemed to have been sexually motivated. Admitting he had filmed the woman, he told the hearing that he had originally meant to take pictures of trees. 'I was looking for forest scenery. I wanted spring flowers, that sort of scene. I then went to the city centre,' he said. The doctor, 45, claimed the incident followed three 'stressful events' in his professional life, including a a formal complaint made against him by a patient who said he was 'rude and aggressive'. He said he had to give evidence at the GMC after a medical student he was in charge of continued onto third year even though he hadn't been signed off. In a third incident he said he had to help transfer a three-week-old baby to Leeds hospital but the baby died. He said: 'I felt like my whole world had collapsed and this was the end and that's it. 'I found the experience one of the most stressful things I've ever done. Those legal practises - most of us are not used to this sort of environment. It doesn't justify what I did, but in my mind the stresses inhibited me from dealing with the behaviour that was causing this.' Explaining how he filmed the young woman, he said: 'I had the camera with me. I only took one lens. It is the lens for pictures in the medium to far distance. 'The camera was in the bottom of the bag. It was a messenger type bag with a side pouch and the camera in the bottom with an aperture cut at the front of the bag for the lens to see through and the lens was covered by a filter and there was a digital viewfinder plugged into the camera and that was hidden in the side pouch.' When asked by his lawyer Mark Ainsworth why the lens was covered by a filter and looking through the front of the bag, he added: 'To conceal the end of it so if somebody looked they wouldn't see what was behind it.' The bag used by Dr Forde, who works at York Hospital (pictured) but is currently suspended, contained a camera with a telescopic lens, a medical tribunal was told . He said he used the video mode on his camera to take moving footage and added: 'I took footage of a woman walking down the pavement through the centre of town. 'The security didn't see me recording the footage at the time but I had already recorded it before he saw me stop on the corner of the street. I went to record a woman walking towards me and I stopped and started to set up the camera up to record. 'It was quite a long sequence I had to go through to switch it on and start recording, switch the viewfinder on and try and find the subject then focus manually with my hand in the bag. So I had gone through this and by which time had changed my mind and decided not to film. I switched it off and carried on walking. 'Then I saw a man run across the street shouting "I'm detaining you for voyeurism" and I believed he must have been watching me earlier in the day when I had recorded the footage. He saw me fiddling with my bag and then I switched it off. 'The phrase legs, skirt and body came from the security man. He told police that's what I was filming but I was also recording her hands, head, feet, fingers - it was a full-length video.' He accepted he hadn't asked the woman for her permission to take the film. Dr Forde was originally charged with outraging public decency by using the concealed camera to take pictures of the woman's legs without her consent. However, he was acquitted of the charge on the day of his trial when prosecutors offered no evidence. Admitting he had filmed the woman, Dr Forde told the tribunal that he had originally meant to take pictures of 'forest scenery' Representing the General Medical Council (GMC), Natasha Tahta said: 'On May 9 last year, Dr Forde was seen by a security guard in York city centre acting suspiciously. 'He was found with a satchel canvas bag which had been adapted to contain a camera with a telescopic lens which protruded between a concealed hole at the bottom. There was a hand-held remote fire switch in the front pouch. 'Two police community support officers attended and they found Dr Forde carrying the bag containing the hidden camera with the telescopic lens and spoke to him. He admitted that he had been filming a young lady for about five minutes and he had done this before and had more images of other females at home. 'In due course he was charged with an offence of outraging public decency then acquitted when the CPS offered no evidence. 'The conduct amounts to misconduct as he videoed the legs and skirt and the lady was in a public place.' Dr Forde, who qualified as a doctor in 1991, was suspended  from practicing as a doctor on an interim basis by the GMC after the allegation was made. He qualified as an anaesthetist in 1999 and for several years has held a post in York Hospital's anaesthetics department. He has also worked at York's Clifton Park Hospital. The doctor will give evidence this afternoon. The hearing continues. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.
Dr Steven Forde followed a young woman wearing a mini skirt around a city centre, using a James Bond-style spy camera to film her legs, a pictures of forest scenery', a tribunal heard. Dr bottom of the bag. The married father-of-three, officers that he had filmed women secretively before and that he had a stash of images at home, into the camera and that was hidden in the side with a telescopic lens, a medical tribunal was told . He said he used the video mode on his the film. Dr Forde was originally charged with camera to take pictures of the woman's legs offence of outraging public decency then