A WILTSHIRE police officer has been fired for gross misconduct.

A special case hearing chaired by Chief Constable Kier Pritchard was held at Swindon’s Gablecross police station and it decided to dismiss PC Geoff Goodway immediately, without notice.

PC Goodway did not attend the hearing to hear allegations of a common assault on a member of the public, to which he pleaded guilty in court last month.

He was sentenced to a community order and fined for two assaults.

These incidents did not take place while he was on duty.

Goodway was investigated by the force for sending abusive e-mails from the Wiltshire Police system to the same member of the public, sending an explicit image via the force’s e-mail system to a member of staff while on duty and failing to deal with the seizure of cash from an investigation as required by the force’s guidelines.

The 43-year-old had been a police officer since 2009 and was last stationed in Devizes.

He was suspended last year after his arrest for the common assault which took place in Chippenham in 2015.

Chf Con Pritchard said: “I believe the majority of police officers, staff and volunteers have the best intentions at heart in both their professional and personal lives - delivering the best they can day in day out.

“The public rightly expect all police officers and staff to operate to the highest standards of professional conduct - equally, our training and culture also demands this to be the case.

"I fully understand that any slight deterioration in such standards can have a detrimental impact on the highest levels of trust and confidence which we enjoy with our local communities and the wider national public.

“Whilst today is a disappointing one, I hope the outcome of this hearing provides confidence to the public that when a breach of our standards are appropriately identified or raised directly with us we will be robust but fair in how we consider and deal with any complaint.

“The code of ethics that all officers and staff work within, clearly sets out the behaviour that is expected by all of us whether on or off duty.

“I fully acknowledge that this period has been very difficult for all parties concerned and I hope that the outcome of today’s hearing will provide some satisfactory closure for the victims and all of those involved in this case.”