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A PC filmed himself performing a sex act at a police station and sent the footage to a man posing as a 17-year-old, a misconduct panel heard.

Jack Smith, 26, was off-duty at Stevenage Police Station when he sent the video to a person he had initiated contact with on the dating app Grindr.

The officer admitted he had "behaved in a deplorable manner".

He was sacked without notice after the misconduct panel found he had committed gross misconduct.

The Hertfordshire Police officer told the hearing his initial conversations with the "boy", known as Mr A, had been about "day-to-day life, who we are and what we did".

The hearing was told the exchange moved on to Whatsapp on 19 September 2018, and "quite early on" in their exchanges Mr A said he was 17.

PC Smith, who had previously worked for the Met, sent a number of explicit pictures and videos of himself to Mr A.

The officer said that "his age was not forming part of my process" and accepted he should have focused more on it.

'Embarrassed and ashamed'

The hearing was told he sent Mr A a picture of himself in police uniform and in written submissions the force said "PC Smith had been using his status as a police officer as part of the sexual conversation".

The panel heard that on 23 September that year PC Smith was in the locker room of Stevenage Police Station when he filmed himself performing a sex act and sent it to Mr A.

PC Smith told the hearing he felt "embarrassed, ashamed, regretful" and added "I honestly wish I could give you a clear answer as to what I was thinking".

The panel said the content of some of the messages meant it was likely the public "might consider the officer at least condoned the use of controlled drugs and therefore might fail to impartially discharge his duty to take appropriate action under... the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971".

Hertfordshire Chief Constable Charlie Hall said PC Smith's conduct fell "well short" of the standards expected of police officers.

"Hertfordshire Constabulary actively investigates allegations or suspicions of misconduct and there is no place in the force for those few individuals whose misconduct does not reflect the professionalism and dedication of the vast majority of the constabulary's officers and staff."