Bedfordshire PC set up fake dating profile to target ex

Bedfordshire Police said PC Mark Bellwood would have been "dismissed without notice had he not already resigned"

A police officer has been found guilty of gross misconduct for setting up a fake online dating profile to contact his ex-partner.

Bedfordshire Police said PC Mark Bellwood took images from a colleague's private Facebook account to set up the profile "to establish why their relationship had ended".

He admitted the conduct and resigned ahead of a hearing.

A spokesman said Mr Bellwood would have been sacked had he not resigned.

The Chief Constable of Bedfordshire Police, Gary Forsyth, said Mr Bellwood's behaviour was unacceptable

The incident was reported to the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Professional Standards Department, which assessed it as a breach of the "Standards of Professional Behaviour, namely discreditable conduct; honesty and integrity; authority, respect and courtesy", the force said.

At a police hearing on Friday, Mr Bellwood was found to have committed gross misconduct and was placed on a barred list.

Chief Constable Garry Forsyth, said: "The public rightly have huge expectations of our police officers. They, and specifically women and girls, need to have the confidence to report behaviour to the police.

"PC Bellwood's behaviour was such a gross departure from the standards required, and expected, that his continued service in any form with any sanction less than the one imposed would be severely detrimental to public trust and confidence in policing."