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A detective constable has been given a final written warning after using the police network computer to investigate his ex-partner's new boyfriend.

A disciplinary panel heard Ryan Burgess, of Essex Police, struggled to cope with the breakdown of his relationship last April.

In June he saw a car outside his ex-partner's home and searched for it on the national police computer.

Mr Burgess, from Harlow, was also found guilty of gross misconduct.

He admitted taking photos of the car on his mobile phone, but said he only did that, and subsequently searched it on the national police computer, because he was worried it was linked to drug dealing.

Mr Burgess found the car was clean and said it was purely coincidental that it ended up matching the man his ex-partner was now seeing.

But James Berry, the lawyer for the police, said this was a lie and that he was deliberately investigating this man.

'Harmed trust'

He said Mr Burgess had already been told by his children about his mother's new friend.

He also searched for the man's profile on Facebook, the hearing was told.

Mr Berry said Mr Burgess breached the police's standards of honesty and integrity, and the panel found him guilty of gross misconduct.

It noted he had a strong track record and had been very proactive in investigating crime in his local area.

But the chair of the panel, John Bassett, said he was not a credible witness and was evasive.

Mr Berry said the detective constable's actions had harmed the public trust and breached the data protection act.

He said he aggravated his offence by inventing a cover-up, and that his relationship breakdown did not count as mitigation.

Mr Burgess's lawyer, Rakesh Sharma, said his client had an unblemished career.