A SOLICITOR suspended indefinitely from the solicitors' roll in July, is to have his case re-heard on Tuesday at the Solicitors' Disciplinary Tribunal.

Timothy Husbands, 36, of Petch's Cottages, Liverton, Saltburn-by-Sea, was said to have "buried his head in the sand" after complaints about conveyancing.

Mr Husbands, who practised as Timothy N V Husbands at High Street, Loftus, did not attend the disciplinary hearing and will have to appear in person if he ever wishes to practise again.

The tribunal heard how he failed to respond to letters and telephone calls from the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors after complaints from Midland Bank and another firm of solicitors, Malcolm C Foy, of Moorgate Street, Rotherham.

Stephen Battersby, solicitor for the Law Society, said: "He has never really thought to explain what has happened, other than to say one of his files went missing. It is case where he has buried his head in the sand."

The complaints against Mr Husbands did not involve any dishonesty but "persistent and prolonged failures to do what ought to have been done".

Suspending him, tribunal chairman Alan Ground, sitting with Caroline Pickering and Colin Chesterton, said: "The allegations are not contested, and we find them proved. We consider the appropriate penalty is an indefinite suspension.

"If he wants it to be lifted, he will have to come to the tribunal and explain himself.