A former Essex Police officer who was drugged up on cocaine committed gross misconduct.

Former PC Tony Mowling tested positive for the Class A drug after being required to undertake a drug test on June 8.

An Essex Police misconduct hearing at chaired by Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington, took place in private at Chelmsford Civic Centre on August 6.

He was accused of breaching the "Fitness for Work" and "Discreditable Conduct" paragraphs of the Standards of Professional Behaviour and that it amounted to gross misconduct.

At the hearing, the allegations were found proven.

Former PC Mowling had already resigned but the panel rule that if he hadn’t, he would have been dismissed without notice.

Chief Constable Harrington said: “Illegal drugs destroy communities and ruin lives. Violence and exploitation go hand-in-hand with the sale of drugs and we work really hard as a force to tackle this.

“It is totally unacceptable for police officers or staff to take illegal drugs, they put themselves, their colleagues and the public at risk, and they undermine the trust our communities place in us.

“The testing of officers under specific circumstances is essential to reassure the public that Essex Police will not tolerate the use of drugs by its staff.”