The career of Cumbria's best known medical negligence lawyer is in tatters after a tribunal struck him off for failing to act with integrity.

A disciplinary tribunal found that 63-year-old Marcus Nickson took £530,000 in “loans” from his clients' accounts in a bid to bankroll his cash-strapped firm, KJ Commons and Co, which closed down two years ago.

He was both a partner and a director at the firm.

A probe by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) – the body which regulates the legal profession - found there was a massive £537,000 black hole in Nickson's customer accounts.

The tribunal which investigated his work found irregular payments were also made out of trust funds for which he was responsible.

The lawyer granted himself unsecured and indefinite “loans” by taking the money from damages payouts which had been handed over for clients who had successfully sued.

Nickson rose to prominence after working on several high-profile Cumbrian cases - including one which ended with a £3 million payout for a young boy left with catastrophic brain damage after medics at the West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven failed to spot he was being starved of oxygen.

He also won £750,000 for a Bigrigg man who suffered kidney failure after he ate a contaminated burger on a luxury Egyptian holiday.

James McClelland, on behalf of the Solicitors' Disciplinary Tribunal, (SDT), told the hearing that Nickson qualified as a lawyer in 1977 and he had 30 years' professional experience in 2007 when allegations arose.

“This is not a young and inexperienced solicitor,” he said.

“This is a solicitor who was a leader in his field.” Nickson began conducting complex clinical negligence cases in 1982 – 20 years before the misconduct charges arose.

He was a partner in the firm, which had offices in Workington and Carlisle from 1992 until 2010 and a director between October 2010 and December 2012.

During the hearing, Nickson claimed he was bullied at work and had little or no management of the costs in his firm.

The Tribunal found that Nickson failed to act with integrity, acted in such a way to diminish the public's confidence in the legal profession, failed to comply with a court order and failed to provide a good standard of service to his client.

He was cleared of dishonesty.

Tim Nesbitt, defending, said that Nickson had been diagnosed with colon cancer in 2013, which affected him at work.

He said: “He also felt bullied intimidated and in fear in the workplace. This and his illness impacted upon his judgement.”

Mr Nesbitt added: "Costs were not really his strength."

Panel chair Laurence Gilford struck Nickson off and ordered him to pay costs of £60,540.21.