AN Essex police officer has been sacked after being found guilty of abusing his position to drive police cars under blue lights when he was not trained to do so.

A hearing decided the officer had committed gross misconduct.

PC Jack Medhurst was accused of using his sirens and blue lights, and exceeding the speed limit, on numerous occasions in marked and unmarked police cars between January and August 2020, without the relevant training to do so.

At the time he held a basic driving permit to drive police vehicles, which meant he was able to respond to incidents, including emergencies, but had to do so within the speed limit.

Legally Qualified Chair Andrew Clemes led a two-day misconduct hearing at Chelmsford Civic Centre.

The allegations were found to have been proven and PC Medhurst was found to have breached the Standards of Professional Behaviour relating to Orders and Instructions, Duties and Responsibilities, and Discreditable Conduct.

He was dismissed without notice.

Assistant Chief Constable Andy Prophet said: "Our officers are trained to high standards to ensure that we respond quickly but also safely in order to protect people at the scene of an incident and also those we come into contact with on our way there.

"PC Medhurst had not been trained in response driving and his actions had the potential to put both the public and also himself and his colleagues at risk.

"He has not demonstrated the level of professional judgement and driving standards that are rightly expected of every officer.

ACC Prophet added: "We always do our best to respond to high-risk emergencies within 10 minutes and to do so safely, that is why the force invests in dedicated response driver training and in maintaining all our vehicles to the highest standards. Both are essential to protecting and serving the people of Essex."