A SENIOR officer accused of urinating against a presidential palace claimed last night he had been framed by Lithuanian police - and felt forced to resign.

Chief Superintendent Kevin Pitt, 49, agreed that grainy CCTV footage showed him leaning against a wall with his hands in his pockets, but he denied relieving himself.

Mr Pitt, who was also District Commander of Stockton and has been in the force more than 30 years, said he was framed by Lithuanian police in court because he had complained about officers stealing cash from his pocket following his arrest.

He offered his resignation to Cleveland Police Chief Constable Barry Shaw when he returned to Britain and it was immediately accepted.

But he added that he had felt under tremendous pressure to quit.

Earlier, in an official police statement, Mr Pitt had said the incident was "a grave error of judgement".

"As a result of this isolated incident, I feel I have no choice but to offer my resignation with immediate effect and apologise to all for the embarrassment I have caused," he said.

But last night, Mr Pitt said the CCTV footage released in Lithuania had in fact shown him leaning against the wall because he thought he was going to be sick.

Mr Pitt told The Northern Echo from his Billingham home: "It wasn't that I had too much to drink. It was something I ate.

"I should have left the restaurant and caught a taxi back to the hotel. I should not have been in that position."

He was given a £35 ticket for violating public order following the incident on Tuesday night.

Mr Pitt, who earned about £55,000 a year, will be able to draw his pension. It is likely to be about £25,000 a year, with a lump sum of £100,000.

He was in Lithuania with colleague Inspector Kerry Anderson as part of a £1.2m EU contract led by Teesside University to teach anti-corruption and ethics to government departments in Lithuania.

Urgent talks took place on Thursday between the European Commission and Lithuania's anti-corruption agency, after the agency refused to work with Cleveland Police again.

Alan Doig, professor of public services management at Teesside and the project's manager, is due to fly out to Lithuania tomorrow for a meeting to discuss a replacement for the North-East force. The contract was worth about £100,000 to Cleveland Police.

Insp Anderson, who was with Mr Pitt near the palace wall, could still face police disciplinary measures.

Chief Constable Barry Shaw has contacted the Lithuanian authorities to apologise over the gaffe, which has caused deep offence in the Baltic state.

Cleveland Police Authority chairman Ken Walker said it was a regrettable situation, but Mr Pitt had taken the right decision to resign.

Chief Inspector Paul Rider, chairman of the Cleveland branch of the Police Federation, said: "I would extend my sympathy to Kevin Pitt and his family. It is sad that his career should end in this way.