A Leicestershire Police officer has been sacked after he was found to be contacting sex workers in order to live out a "fantasy".

Officer A, who can not be identified due to anonymity restrictions, faced a Leicestershire Police misconduct hearing on Wednesday, September 23, when he was accused of gross misconduct during his time as a police constable.

The hearing heard how Officer A contacted nine telephone numbers within seven days that were associated with sex workers from online websites, and the interactions took place between November 2025 and April 2026 from his personal phone.

In one instance, Officer A requested to meet a sex worker in the texts that were found on his phone before asking that he "wanted to see the real thing".

During the hearing, Officer A admitted he sent the messages, but his representative, Ryan Coleman, argued they didn't constitute gross misconduct.

The hearing also heard there was no evidence that he actually met up with them, was cooperative with the police from the start, with one text labelling the officer as a "time-waster".

Liz Briggs, a solicitor for Leicestershire Police, said that the sexual messages soon turned from text messages to WhatsApp.

She added: "The officer knew he was making contact with sex workers and said that he wanted to meet with them in an effort to procure sexual services."

Miss Briggs told the hearing that sex workers were potentially vulnerable and there were "risks of harm" in contacting them as an officer.

Mr Coleman told the hearing that Officer A voluntarily handed over his phone, PIN number, did not meet with any sex workers at any time, and even voluntarily offered to hand over bank statements.

Mr Coleman later said that many of Officer A's actions were due to "deteriorating mental and physical health" and that he had been put in administrative duties which led to a loss of identity.

He added: "He never knew that any of them had been trafficked or exploited. He is accepting responsibility for his poor judgment at the time."

Chief Constable David Sandall said that the amount of sexual messages sent showed a "pattern of behaviour" due to the length of time it had happened and that it was seen as a "fantasy" by the officer.

He later ruled that the behaviour amounted to gross misconduct and that his actions could be seen as undermining public confidence in the force.

Addressing his actions, Officer A said that he "wasn't himself" and the conversations were "pathetic".

He added: "I'm not a bad person, I'm not a bad egg. If I had known the guidance, I would have never done so.

"I'm not a bad person, I'm not a bad apple. I'm just not myself, and I haven't been myself for a while."

CC Sandall determined that Officer A should be dismissed without notice due to the repeated nature of the texts being "exploitative", his deteriorating mental health was not a strong mitigation for his actions and the potential to undermine public confidence.

He said: "I recognise this isn't the outcome you wanted, but I give you much credit for coming to this hearing today.

"It does not need to define your life."