A GP was jailed for a year yesterday for indecently assaulting three women patients whom he treated, according to a crown court judge, like "sexual playthings."

Family doctor Ian Cowie, 50, who suffers from alcoholism and depression, was ordered to pay £20,000 legal costs. He will be placed on the sexual offenders' register for 10 years.

Showing no emotion, he was condemned for breaching his patients' trust by Judge Shaun Spencer at Leeds crown court. He was found guilty by a jury there earlier this year after a four week trial, but acquitted of two similar charges, including the allegations from a woman patient which started the police inquiry and brought the other cases to light.

The court was told that Cowie was part of a medical partnership at Batley and Chickenley in West Yorkshire, living alone near his work and known by colleagues and many patients to have a long-standing drink problem.

One woman witness had told the court that he had smelled so strongly of whisky during her examination that she rang the police afterwards to warn them that he was planning to drive home.

Cowie's victims, who were assaulted in 1999 and 2000, described how he exposed and caressed their breasts during examinations for complaints about unrelated conditions, such as stomach pains.

One 18-year-old student described his actions as being more "like those of a boyfriend", leaving "her humiliated, disgusted and violated".

William Coker QC, in mitigation for Cowie before his sentencing, said the doctor did not accept his guilt and maintained he was the victim of a miscarriage of justice. He was likely to face an early grave unless he was given help for his alcoholism, and psychiatric support.

He also faced professional and personal ruin.

"Through these convictions, he has thrown away all he's worked for, his qualifications, his studies, all the time he took training, everything," Mr Coker said. The General Medical Council would be "incredibly lenient" if they let him practise again.

But Judge Spencer told Cowie: "Patients are entitled to feel they will be professionally examined and not made sexual playthings of."

He agreed with Mr Coker that it was unusual for the initial allegation to be rejected by a jury while the later ones were found proved, but added that this did not justify imposing a suspended sentence.