Police officer who sent abusive tweets to celebrities faces the sack

(Getty Images)

A Pc who tweeted abuse about celebrities and called for an estate from the TV show Benefits Street where he had policed to be bulldozed with "people still inside it" has been found guilty of gross misconduct.

Pc Graham Wise admitted sending some of the offensive messages from the canteen of Cleveland Police's headquarters while he was on breaks, a disciplinary hearing was told.

He called former EastEnder Daniella Westbrook a "washed up cokehead with one nostril", described Gemma Collins as "fat c***" and called the tennis player Nick Kyrgios a "bell**d".

The officer had previously worked in Stockton, Teesside, and had policed the Tilery estate where Benefits Street was filmed.

He tweeted to the Gazette newspaper saying: "Bulldoze it, preferably with the majority of people still inside it", the hearing at the force headquarters in Middlesbrough heard.

He tweeted about a character from the reality show Benefits By the Sea, saying: "Hopefully by the end of the show Disco Dave will be dead. £rats"

Commenting on the show 24 Hours in Custody, he wrote: "Some defence solicitors really grip my s**t".

About Lady Colin Campbell from I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here, he posted: "Why is everyone scared to say Lady C is a c***".

He also called boxer Anthony Joshua's opponent Dillian Whyte a "tw*t", a "tosser" and "a deluded idiot".

Asked by the panel chairman Gerry Sydenham if he was on breaks at the force HQ when he sent the tweets, Pc Wise replied: "I will have either been in the canteen or the kitchen next door."

Asa Anderson, counsel for the police, said that although Pc Wise told investigators he thought only his 170 followers could see his tweets, he used hashtags, and they were all accessible by the public.

Mr Sydenham said in his judgment it was a "sustained, repeated and very serious disregard of professional standards of behaviour expected by police officers" and the comments were "egregious".

Nick Kyrgios will face Andy Murray in the fourth round at Wimbledon (Getty)

An investigation was launched after an email, possibly sent from someone using a pseudonym, accused Pc Wise of sending tweets of an abusive, sexist or derogatory nature to sports personalities, TV stars and victims of crime.

Pc Wise, who has a long term partner and a son, told investigators he had been "absolutely stupid".

The hearing was told some tweets made it obvious he was a serving officer, including one which referred to him having a role at HQ.

He is also accused of accessing the force intelligence system to look up information on criminals, some of whom he went to school with, without justification.

He is not accused of passing on that information to any third party.

Pc Wise told investigators he was a "nosey policeman" and wanted to bring himself up to date after a period off work with illness.

Some of the hearing was closed to the media when it dealt with some aspects of his medical history.

Pc Wise, who had served in the Royal Navy, did say in an open section of the hearing that he had mental health issues and he was still undergoing treatment.

At the time of the investigation, Pc Wise was working in a role at police headquarters dealing with calls from the public and assessing whether they warranted uniformed officers to attend.

The panel has adjourned to consider what sanction he should face and will return later.

PA