A policeman was sacked by his force today after being convicted of selling pirated DVDs of Hollywood movies on internet site eBay.

Pc John Wragg, a probationary officer with Cleveland Police, was "required to resign" following Tuesday's court case.

The former soldier imported top films from the Far East before selling them onto unsuspecting customers over the internet and via newspaper adverts.

Judge Les Spittle fined Wragg £1,000, gave him a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to him to pay £5,000 costs.

The married 34-year-old had admitted a single charge of selling a bootleg DVD and two specimen charges of possessing counterfeit films.

Teesside Crown Court heard how his profitable sideline was ended when one customer complained to trading standards after they bought a DVD that was still on general release at the cinema.

A trading standards officer posed as a potential client and bought one DVD for £13 and obtained a list of other blockbusters for sale from Wragg.

When his home in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, was raided they recovered around 200 pirated DVDs and other equipment linked to the selling of such movies.

A force spokesman said in a statement today: ''A Cleveland Police officer who was fined by Teesside Crown Court after admitting selling pirated DVDs has been required to resign following a disciplinary hearing today.''