A Bedfordshire police officer has been sacked for gross misconduct.

PC Arshad Mahmood has been dismissed after using police force systems for a non-policing purpose.

At a public misconduct hearing on Wednesday last week, he was found to have committed gross misconduct in respect of honesty and integrity, orders and instructions, duties and responsibilities, confidentiality and discreditable conduct.

PC Mahmood, who joined the force in 2005, failed to attend the hearing at Biggleswade Town Hall, but a panel found the allegations against him all proved in his absence.

The allegations included viewing a computer log of an incident which involved a relative in 2015. He subsequently failed to disclose that search or notify the police force that a family member had a criminal conviction during a vetting check in 2017.

PC Mahmood was also found to have accessed systems to review a log in relation to a warrant carried out at a property owned by a family member in November last year, and had failed to disclose a business interest for a period of 10 years.

PC Mahmood, who had already handed in his resignation to the police force, was dismissed without notice with immediate effect.

Deputy Chief Constable Trevor Rodenhurst said: "We expect the very highest standards of integrity from our officers, but PC Mahmood's conduct has repeatedly fallen well short of our expectations.

"It is imperative that police officers and staff are trusted with confidential information in order to keep people safe.

"We ensure everyone is fully aware of the responsibility that comes with that trust, and the importance of using our systems purely for policing purposes.

"Anyone who abuses that responsibility will face being held to account."