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Two police officers scuppered a series of child abuse investigations through a combination of laziness and a "cynical disdain" for the accusers, a court heard.

Essex Police Det Cons Sharon Patterson, 49, and Lee Pollard, 47, are accused of three counts misconduct in public office between 2011 and 2014.

The Old Bailey was told the couple forged documents, concealed evidence and misrepresented investigations.

Both defendants deny the charges.

The allegations against the officers, who live together in Colchester, came to light when performance reviews were carried out into the child abuse investigation team in which they worked in.

Prosecutor Alexandra Healy QC told the jury: "The effect was that allegations of child sex offences were not properly investigated; the motivation appears to have been a combination of laziness, self-preservation and a cynical disdain for complainants in child abuse investigations."

Their conduct was "beyond incompetence" and not down to a "lack of resources" or "insufficient investigative manpower", she said.

Ms Patterson is accused of falsely representing evidence to her supervisor so no further action was taken against a male suspect and of fabricating a witness statement.

She also allegedly created a false Crown Prosecution Service document in order to deceive her supervisor into thinking a decision had been taken not to charge a second male.

Mr Pollard allegedly removed and destroyed four photographs that were "important exhibits" to an investigation and also misrepresented evidence to his supervisor so no further action was taken in a separate probe.

The trial continues.