A former Avon & Somerset Police officer accused of having sex with a drunken woman in his car while on duty has been cleared of misconduct.

The panel ruled that ex-Sgt Lee Cocking did not breach standards of professional behaviour for police officers in relation to honesty and integrity and discreditable conduct.

In a statement after the decision on Friday at the end of a two-week police misconduct hearing at force headquarters in Portishead, Deputy Chief Constable Nikki Watson said she was disappointed but respected the ruling.

Mr Cocking, 41, claimed that he was the victim of a sexual assault by the woman who he had offered to take home in his unmarked police car after she was thrown out of Skinny Dippers nightclub in Weston-super-Mare for causing trouble in the early hours of Christmas Eve, 2017.

The married father of two, who was acting inspector in charge of policing the town that night, had told the hearing he felt "numb" and had "complete panic" as the woman jumped across from the front passenger seat, straddled him and attempted to have sex, having taken her trousers and underwear partway down without him noticing.

But the panel, led by Legally Qualified Chair Anna Vigars, never got to hear from her because she declined to take part in the proceedings.

Afterwards, Deputy Chief Constable Watson said: "The two-week misconduct hearing has been overseen by a Legally Qualified Chair, who is independent of the constabulary.

"We fully respect the chair's authority but are disappointed that having carefully weighed up all the evidence they have ruled the allegations around dishonesty and discreditable conduct were not proven.

"Police officers and staff are expected to maintain the highest level of professional standards at all times.

"We have consistently believed the actions of the former officer on December 24. 2017, fell short of those standards and were not what the public would expect from their police service.

"We have invested a significant amount of time and resources into both a criminal and misconduct investigation since 2017.

"The officer involved is no longer employed by Avon & Somerset Police.

"We are unable to comment further until we have reviewed the full determination from the LQC.

"Full details of the outcome will be published on our website."

Ms Vigars did not announce the panel's reasons for clearing the ex-sergeant of the misconduct allegations, although these are expected to be published soon as part of the full decision.

She said: "We don't find misconduct insofar as Mr Cocking is concerned.

"It is important to say that we acknowledge that these proceedings have been difficult for all concerned and we are grateful to everybody for the sense in which they have been handled on all sides." 

The former officer, who grew up in Bristol and now lives in Cheddar, retired from the force in July on medical grounds, having been diagnosed with anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder following a fatal road accident he attended in 2015 in which a young girl died.

He was acquitted by a jury of a criminal charge of misconduct in a public office following an 11-day trial at Gloucester Crown Court last year over the 2017 incident in his car with the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

An earlier jury trial in Cirencester had failed to agree a verdict.

During the police misconduct hearing, the panel was told the woman had never claimed she had been sexually assaulted by the former officer and that the sex was consensual.

A request by Mr Cocking's barrister Ray Tully to lift her anonymity so she could be named publicly was refused by the LQC on Friday.

The retired officer was accused of having "sexual relations with a vulnerable member of the public while on duty" and giving "untruthful answers to a police custody sergeant" about his medical history, which would have amounted to gross misconduct if proven, it was alleged.