A former officer has been barred from policing after allegations of gross misconduct were proven at a hearing.

Former Police Constable A was found to have breached the Standards of Professional Behaviour at an Avon and Somerset Police misconduct hearing recently.

The officer was reported to be involved in providing a building quote for a friend to obtain funding from a mortgage company which she knew was not genuine, and for preparing VAT returns for her husband’s building company which were inaccurate.

She also failed to report her husband for preparing the inaccurate building quote and for accepting payments in cash to avoid paying VAT.

The hearing was held in front of a panel, led by a Legally Qualified Chair (LQC) who is independent of policing. The panel found the officer would have been dismissed if she hadn’t already resigned, and she will now be added to a national barred list to prevent her from working in policing or other law enforcement agencies again.

The LQC decided the officer would remain anonymous until the conclusion of the appeals process. If an appeal is not lodged, or if an appeal is heard and is not successful, the officer will be named at this point.