A POLICE officer who shoplifted wine and barbecue sauce from a supermarket has been dismissed from the force.

PC David Lambert, an officer based at Warrington Police Station on Arpley Street, stole goods worth £19.76 from Asda Birchwood.

On Friday, December 15, he was dismissed from his post without notice following a two-day misconduct hearing at Cheshire Police’s headquarters in Winsford.

An independent panel heard that PC Lambert was off duty when he entered the supermarket at around 3.30pm on Thursday, August 10.

He purchased items through a self-checkout till, paying £7.32, but was confronted by security while exiting the store.

In his bag, staff found two bottles of rose wine worth £6.48 each, two barbecue sauces priced at £1.99 and three Nando’s seasoning rubs valued at 94p - none of which had been paid for.

PC Lambert paid for the items he had taken and was banned from the store, which later reported him to the force.

The constable did not deny taking the items but claimed it had not been a deliberate attempt to steal from the supermarket, and was instead an ‘honest mistake contributed to by stresses in his personal and working life’.

But the panel found that he had breached professional standards and dismissed PC Lambert without notice.

Detective chief superintendent Kevin Bennett, head of Cheshire Police’s people and professional standards department, said: “I welcome the outcome of this hearing, which shows that we treat all allegations we receive extremely seriously.

“It is essential that the people we serve have both confidence and trust in the service we deliver.

“We actively promote the highest of standards of personal and professional behaviour and integrity to all officers and staff.

“Unfortunately, in this case, PC Lambert’s behaviour fell well below the level expected of a serving officer and he grossly undermined the privileged position that his role as a member of Cheshire Police demands and expects.”