A DISGRACED police officer who was forced to quit following allegations that he and a colleague had a sex romp with a sixth form schoolgirl while on duty, has given up his battle to clear his name.

Michael Hendy and Marc Watson, both officers in Barnard Castle, County Durham, were forced to resign in August last year after a misconduct hearing found them guilty of inappropriate behaviour and of misusing police transport.

PC Hendy lodged an appeal against the decision with Durham Police, but Chief Constable George Hedges turned it down following a review of the hearing in October.

The shamed officer then had the right to appeal to the Police Appeals Tribunal, but police have now confirmed that they have not been notified of any intention to appeal, and that the deadline has now expired.

Last year's hearing, at Durham Police headquarters, at Aykley Heads, Durham, followed a sixth-month investigation into claims that the two officers had sex with a 17-year-old girl in the back of their police van, while on duty.

The two officers were present at the two-hour hearing, chaired by Assistant Chief Constable Ron Hogg, and both were represented by Durham Police Federation chairman, Sergeant Terry Corrigan, who said they had a "full and fair hearing".

The internal investigation, led by a superintendent from the Professional Standards Department, was launched last March after allegations about a late-night sex romp, involving two policemen and three women, surfaced on a locally-generated Internet website.

But, despite the claims that the New Year's Eve sex session involved three women, only one, a 17-year-old from the Teesdale area, was interviewed during the investigation.

While the inquiry was carried out, the officers, both in their mid-twenties, were moved to Crook and Bishop Auckland police stations.

A spokesman for Durham Police said: "PC Hendy had the right to appeal to the Police Appeals Tribunal but no notice of intention to appeal has been lodged within the time limit, and therefore, as far as we are concerned, the matter is closed."

Neither officer was available for comment yesterday