A teacher sacked after he failed to check on pupils drinking alcohol on a camping trip has lost his bid to get his job back.

Peter Bell claimed at a Brighton employment tribunal he was unfairly dismissed by governors at Slindon College, an independent boys' school near Arundel.

Mr Bell, 58, was sacked for gross misconduct for failing to properly supervise the trip last May.

He told the hearing there had been no emergency and the governors' decision to sack him was too harsh after 15 years' dedicated service to the college.

The tribunal heard the boys, aged 15 and 16, were camping alone overnight on a Duke of Edinburgh bronze expedition at a site in Selsey, near Chichester, 400 yards from the sea.

Late at night, one of the boys contacted a teacher at the school, saying he was concerned other boys had left the site and bought drink.

The matron contacted Mr Bell, who organised the expedition, and she expected him to visit the site.

But Mr Bell, who lives in Selsey, decided not to go after talking to the boy on his mobile phone.

He believed the boys had to learn to be self-sufficient.

No harm came to the boys at the camp but the headmaster Ian Graham, was so concerned he launched an immediate investigation.

Mr Bell, who had already received a final written warning, was dismissed after the school decided it had lost all trust and confidence in him.

Mr Graham told the tribunal: "It seemed to me some boys on the camp had been put in a potentially serious situation."

Mr Bell said he realised the seriousness of risk assessment but believed the boys were safe.

He said: "We only have evidence of one boy having a drink. My confidence in the boys was confirmed the next morning when I arrived at about 8am. The boys were all in good shape."

The tribunal unanimously dismissed Mr Bell's case.