DETECTIVES last night vowed to launch a legal battle against the "lenient" jail sentence imposed on a Darlington doctor who used hidden cameras in his surgery to film his sexual attacks on patients.

Following discussions with the Crown Prosecution Service, officers at Durham Constabulary and lawyers will ask the Attorney General to review the three-and-a-half-year sentence handed to family doctor Syed Amjad Husain.

He also faces being struck off by the General Medical Council when his case is heard in the next few months.

The Darlington GP was sentenced at Leeds Crown Court yesterday after he admitted indecently assaulting two children, aged seven and nine, a teenager aged 15, a 32-year-old woman and a 74-year-old woman.

He also confessed to filming his victims as he carried out the attacks and admitted downloading child pornography on his computer, showing girls as young as four in sex acts with adults.

Detective Superintendent Harry Stephenson said that while it was important Husain had admitted his guilt, the CPS and police wanted to appeal against the sentence.

He said: "We have had a discussion with the barrister and we are going to ask the Attorney General to look at the sentence with a view to an appeal."

The court heard how Husain hid a camcorder in a box of tissues on his desk, at Orchard Court GP practice in Darlington, filming the victims naked and undergoing intimate internal examinations.

Husain, of Lazenby Grove, Darlington, also filmed himself assaulting an unknown woman, who police have been unable to trace.

The Recorder of Leeds, Norman Jones QC, said the disgraced doctor had let down his patients, profession and family.

He told him: "These were disgraceful offences. The indecent assaults were an outrageous abuse against the most trusting of people, in this case children and the aged."

He said the indecent assault on the 74-year-old woman was nauseating.

The Northern Echo revealed last August that the doctor had been arrested.

A helpline was set up by Darlington Primary Care Trust (PCT) for anyone with concerns, and more than 6,000 patients at the practice were informed of the doctor's suspension by letter.

The court was told Husain was immature and because of his cultural background was sexually inexperienced.

But the judge added: "There are many doctors in this country who come from your cultural background - honourable, decent men who would never dream of behaving like that."

Jamie Hill, prosecuting, said Husain's illegal activities were uncovered by a 32-year-old mother who visited the surgery complaining of abdominal pain.

Mr Hill said: "When she raised her head to see what was happening, she saw a tissue box with a hole - inside was a camera lens. It was positioned on the examination table between her legs."

When police searched Husain's house they recovered a computer that had more than 1,500 indecent images of children on it.

Another raid uncovered a second computer where detectives found the film of Husain assaulting patients.

As well as the indecent assaults, Husain admitted a further eight charges of possessing indecent photographs of children, eight counts of making indecent photographs of children and two counts of taking indecent photographs of children.

He denied three counts of indecent assault and they were ordered to lie on the file.

The offences occurred between January and August last year.

At an earlier remand hearing, at Peterlee Magistrates' Court, County Durham, it was revealed that when the allegations came to light a meeting was held between the practice partners and the doctor on July 28 at 5pm.

The police were not informed until the following morning, allowing the doctor to go home after the meeting and begin destroying evidence.

But Darlington PCT said: "It is our understanding that some evidence was deleted by Dr Husain, but this had little bearing on the case."