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A police officer's language towards a group of travellers was discriminatory and amounted to gross misconduct, a disciplinary panel found.

PC Paul Birch, 51, of the West Midlands force, was called to reports of theft at a former golf course in Northfield, Birmingham, in 2017.

At a trial last August he was cleared of racially aggravated wounding after his service dog bit a man at the scene.

But the police watchdog said there was a gross misconduct case to answer.

The Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) instructed West Midlands Police to convene a disciplinary hearing and on Thursday, the case was found proven.

The IOPC said it had reviewed body-worn police camera and mobile phone footage and examined PC Birch's actions surrounding the animal's deployment and whether it was an appropriate use of force.

The bitten man, a member of the travelling community, was taken to hospital following the incident.

On Friday, the IOPC's regional director for the West Midlands, Derrick Campbell, said: "It became clear from our investigation that the language used by PC Birch against the travellers present could be deemed to be discriminatory.

"A disciplinary panel has now ruled that it was unacceptable."

PC Birch was given a final written warning for gross misconduct after the language was found to breach professional standards, the IOPC said.

He also faced gross misconduct proceedings, along with another officer, over allegations they had colluded over their accounts of events, but each was cleared of breaching standards of honesty and integrity.