A PROBATIONER police officer has lost his career before it really got started following his conviction for drink driving when his partner called the force after he drove away after a row.

Jack Birch was a serving Cleveland Police officer when he was found to be almost twice the drink drive limit after he drove to a garage following the argument with his partner.

A disciplinary hearing was told how the officer had resigned from the force as a result of his conviction in April this year.

Chief Constable Richard Lewis, who was chairing the hearing, was told that Birch’s partner had called the police after he drove away following a row in early hours of the morning on January 25 this year.

Detective Sergeant Carl Hunt, of the professional standards department, said the former officer called the force to tell them where to find him.

Officers arrested Birch on suspicion of drink driving when he failed a roadside breath test recording 63mg of alcohol per 100ml of breath – the legal limit is just 35 mg.

When he was interviewed the former officer admitted he had been drinking but told colleagues he had stopped several hours earlier.

DS Hunt said in a later police interview Birch issued a prepared statement saying "he was mistaken and he had consumed two cans of lager in the time between the police being called and the officers arriving".

Birch later accepted this version of events was not true and pleaded guilty to the drink driving offence at Teesside Magistrates’ Court.

The 24-year-old was arrested on Acklam Road, Middlesbrough, while driving his own personal vehicle while he was off duty.

An investigation by the force’s professional standards team ruled he should face disciplinary action for gross misconduct.

He later resigned from the force to save it from any "further embarrassment" after admitting the drink driving offence the hearing was told.

The former officer chose not to appear at the hearing held in the Destiny Church Centre, in Stockton.

Police Federation representative Paul Faulkner read out the former officer's resignation letter where he expressed his remorse and apologised for bringing embarrassment on the force.

DS Hunt said Birch's claim he had drink the two cans while waiting for police was not true but accepted that the former officer had panicked.

Following the short hearing, Mr Lewis said his conclusion was that Birch would have been dismissed with immediate effect for gross misconduct after breaching the force's own code of conduct.

He said a police officer is expected to uphold the law.

"The decision to drive that night was his and his alone, he is wholly responsible for his actions," he added.

"Had he not resigned, I would have dismissed him with immediate affect."