A former police officer would have been sacked for gross misconduct for groping a colleague on a night out if he hadn’t already quit the force, a tribunal ruled.

Alexander Parkes twice squeezed the bum of a fellow officer while they were standing at a bar in Durham City Centre before fleeing the Slug and Lettuce when he realised his inappropriate behaviour had been spotted.

The independent misconduct panel heard how the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was left shocked when the incident happened ‘out of the blue’ while they were out celebrating at a colleague’s leaving do.

During her evidence, the officer said she was shocked by her colleague’s behaviour on May 15 last year.

Read next: Face of killer revealed as he is sentenced for Norman Ryan's manslaughter

She said: “He had his hand on my back and it went slowly down until he was squeezing my right bum cheek.

“It felt like it lasted a few seconds.”

The ex-Cleveland Police officer maintained that any touching was unintentional and was not sexually motivated.

However, the panel ruled that he was guilty of misconduct after listening to three days of evidence.

Chairman Callum Cowx (CORR) said the former officer’s behaviour would have warranted him being dismissed without notice if he hadn’t already quit the force.

He said: “You touched her twice and you did so when you knew your conduct was inappropriate.

“This was a single incident over a brief period of time.”

Mr Cowx said dismissal without notice was the only punishment available to the panel if they were to reassure the public and fellow officers that this kind of sexual conduct was not to be tolerated by the force.

Mr Parkes was accused of breaching the standards of professional behaviour for police officers, specifically the standards of - authority, respect, and courtesy - and discreditable conduct as a result of the grope.

Read more:

​Get all the latest crime and court updates, for less than the price of a coffee, with a Premium Plus digital subscription to The Northern Echo. Click here

During the hearing, Temporary Sergeant Chris Dove told the panel that he initially thought the pair may have been in a relationship and the act was consensual but his opinion changed after he spoke to the woman.

He said: “She didn’t want him to do it but didn’t feel like she could move his hand out of the way.

“After that, I realised it was not consensual, it was done without her consent. He then left the bar through one of the doors.”

Mr Parkes will now be placed on the College of Policing’s barred list which will prevent him from working for any other force in the country.