TWO policemen have been forced to quit following a force inquiry into a sex romp with a sixth-form schoolgirl in the back of their police van while they were on duty.

Durham Police confirmed last night that two Barnard Castle police constables had been found guilty after a two-hour disciplinary hearing at force headquarters and had been required to resign.

PCs Marc Watson and Michael Hendy, who are both in their mid-twenties, are entitled to appeal against the hearing decision.

But this was described by a police source last night as "highly unlikely".

Their resignation follows a six-month internal disciplinary investigation led by Assistant Chief Constable Ron Hogg, after allegations surfaced on a local website designed for visitors to the Teesdale area.

The website, Teesdale 2000, which has since been taken over by a new server, suggested that two officers had had sex with three women, one a sixth former, in the back of their police van.

An inquiry was launched in March into the allegations of misuse of police transport and inappropriate behaviour.

Meanwhile, the two officers were moved to Bishop Auckland and Crook police stations.

A 17-year-old girl, who is believed to be from the Middleton-in-Teesdale area of County Durham, was interviewed by police as part of the investigation.

Last night, a spokesman for Durham Police said: "Two police officers, both constables, have appeared before a police conduct hearing chaired by Assistant Chief Constable Ron Hogg.

"The hearing followed an internal inquiry launched by us about six months ago.

"That inquiry was launched following recent information alleging the two police officers had misused police transport while on duty and had indulged in sexual acts with a teenage girl while on duty.

"At the end of the hearing, which lasted more than two hours, the officers were each found guilty of both charges and as a consequence have both been required to resign."

Their resignation has been welcomed by Durham Police Authority chairman and Durham County Councillor Joe Knox, who last night described the two officers' behaviour as "foolish to say the least".

He said: "I have only just found out about the outcome of the hearing, and I'm obviously relieved that they have resigned.

"Their behaviour has been wholly unsatisfactory, and foolish to say the least, and you have to wonder what they were thinking.

"This is obviously a one-off incident, because we have some marvellous police officers serving on the force.

"But I just hope this is a lesson to all officers. This kind of behaviour will not be tolerated."

Nobody at the Police Federation's Durham office, at the Aykley Heads police headquarters, was available to comment on the hearing last night