A disgraced family doctor who sexually assaulted a woman at a Medway surgery has been given a 12-month community order.

Sanjay Chatterjee, 47, will have to carry out 250 hours unpaid work - something his barrister said he will complete quickly as he has been suspended from practising since the allegations were made.

The married GP, of Perch Close, Larkfield, Maidstone, is now awaiting disciplinary proceedings by the General Medical Council as to whether he can return to work.

Chatterjee was found guilty of one charge of sexual assault on the woman by a jury at Maidstone Crown Court in September. But he was cleared of six other charges of sexual assault and one of assault by penetration involving a second woman.

Chatterjee had denied all the offences, claiming he was having an affair with the woman concerned in the seven charges he was acquitted of.

But his assertion that the touching of the first woman was nothing more than non-sexual, tactile touching was dismissed by Judge Charles Macdonald QC.

Sentencing him, the judge said: "I am sure that that is untrue and matters happened as she described."

Prosecutor Lesley Bates said during the trial that the woman at first felt uncomfortable about the Indian-born father-of-two standing close to her when she was at the surgery in May last year.

He then put his hand on her buttock and she thought it best to ignore it. However, a little later he did the same thing. "She realised twice was no accident," said Miss Bates.

On another occasion, he grabbed the woman by her shoulders and necklace and tried to kiss her. She shrugged him off and complained.

A senior doctor wrote to Chatterjee about the complaint and he replied that the incident was true but a one-off.

Judge Macdonald accepted that Chatterjee had now lost his reputation and positive good character, but said he had not shown any real insight into his offending or any genuine remorse.

Chatterjee, whose wife is an NHS manager, has contributed £14,000 to his defence costs, and was ordered by the judge to pay a further £1,000 towards prosecution costs. He must also sign on the sex offenders' register for five years.

Tanya Robinson, defending, said the touching was at the lowest end of the sexual scale. "There was no groping and was short-lived," she added.

She told the court that his career was "quite likely" to be over, but that the GMC would view the court sentence and any comments "with interest".