A FORMER Police Community Support Officer has been told he will never be able to pursue a career in policing again.

Neil Turnbull was recently convicted of a drink driving offence while on duty and would have faced instant dismissal had he not already resigned from his position with Wiltshire Police in August.

He was sentenced in court on Tuesday, August 15 after pleading guilty to driving a police car while under the influence of excess alcohol in Salisbury in March 2023.

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This was identified by officers, and he was immediately suspended and appeared before the court where he was disqualified from driving for 12 months.

Once the criminal proceedings had taken place, a gross misconduct investigation resumed and a hearing was held this week which resulted in Mr Turnbull’s actions amounting to gross misconduct.

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Detective Inspector Adam Leakey said: “Clearly, the actions of Mr Turnbull fly in the face of the standards the public rightly expect from us. As a direct result of his actions, he could have posed a significant risk to the public, his colleagues and himself.

“A gross misconduct investigation has now taken place which confirmed Mr Turnbull’s actions amounted to gross misconduct and he has been added to the College Barred List which means he will never be able to pursue a career in policing again.”