Wiltshire Police have begun investigating another police force following claims of misogyny, racism and homophobia.

The Sunday Times reported that a phone owned by a former Gwent Police officer was found to contain offensive message exchanges between him and former colleagues.

The newspaper said racist images, pornographic videos, and sensitive information about misconduct and corruption investigations was among the material exchanged.

In a WhatsApp group, officers called each other “poofs” and “PC closet”, while another group member used the word “slopes” to describe Asian people, according to The Sunday Times.

The newspaper reported that Gwent chief constable Pam Kelly said that Wiltshire Police was conducting an independent investigation on behalf of Gwent Police.

A spokeswoman for Wiltshire Police said: “We can confirm this investigation is ongoing and it would, therefore, be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”

Wiltshire Police did not respond to a request for comment from the Adver's sister paper, the Salisbury Journal, at the time of writing.