A West Yorkshire Police has been sacked after he lied about being undercover so he could avoid paying for a train ticket.

PC Damian Groves was travelling on a Virgin East Coast Train, from Leeds to Peterborough, on April 26, when he was asked to show his ticket by a guard.

He produced his police warrant card and refused to pay before continuing his journey to Peterborough.

When he got off he told a Virgin East Coast staff member that he did not need to buy a ticket because he was travelling to London to conduct undercover work.

West Yorkshire Police say he was not on duty that day, was not working undercover and did not have permission to travel using his police warrant card.

He then used his police warrant card, without authorisation, on a journey from Peterborough to Leeds on May 12.

At the end of a two-day misconduct hearing at West Yorkshire Police Wakefield District Headquarters this week, the misconduct panel decided that his actions amounted to gross misconduct and he was dismissed from the force without notice.

The panel also found that he had continued to be actively involved in a Scuba Diving business, even after his business interest application was declined in 2015 and he was issued with a final written warning in 2017.

West Yorkshire Police's policy states that any employee who wants to pursue another business interest must apply for permission from the force's Business Interest Panel.
