A DISGRACED special constable who was caught with 'sickening' bestiality images has been barred from policing.

David Parkin, who was based at Didcot Police Station, has been dismissed from Thames Valley Police for possessing extreme pornography, including videos of men and women abusing a chicken, dog and other animals, and sexual images involving a corpse.

The force's chief constable John Campbell found Parkin guilty of gross misconduct at today's hearing, and concluded he would have been dismissed from his role had he not already resigned.

Speaking at the police headquarters in Kidlington, the chief constable said: "This probably doesn't come as any surprise - there can only be one consequence, that being that if he were still serving, he would be dismissed.

"He has no place in this police force."

Parkin, of Washford Glen in Didcot, failed to turn up to the hearing or advise his Police Federation representative.

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The 30-year-old will be added to the College of Policing's Barred List, meaning he will not be able to gain policing work again.

Parkin was sentenced at Oxford Crown Court last month, having pleaded guilty to three counts of having extreme pornography on his mobile phone.

Judge Ian Pringle sentenced him to a two-year community order, a 10-day rehabilitation course, 120 hours of unpaid work and a financial penalty of £480 in court costs.

One Oxford Mail reader, commenting on the court story, branded the images 'sickening.'

The reader added: "Animals being subjected to this abuse is as vile as child abuse, they are all vulnerable and are suffering.

"Those who watch it are fuelling the demand for those who make it."

The court heard Parkin claimed not to have watched the videos, and said they must have automatically downloaded to his phone after being shared on Whatsapp groups he was part of.

His defence barrister at court said Parkin had not deleted them as 'he wasn't aware these kind of images were illegal' despite being a serving police officer at the time.

READ THE FULL COURT STORY HERE

According to information shared at the misconduct hearing, Parkin’s phone was seized by police on July 20, 2018, and 19 extreme pornographic images plus two inaccessible images were discovered.

They were mainly videos, depicting abuse of genitals, men and women abusing animals and necrophilia, the hearing was told.

Addressing chief constable Campbell, Nick James, of the force's professional standards department, said: "Plainly it’s in the public interest for an officer who has brought such discredit to the force to dismiss him, without delay."

The former special constable began volunteering with the force on April 1, 2015, the hearing was told, but resigned on Tuesday last week.

Special constables are volunteer police officers who often work part-time, and Parkin was based at Didcot station.

The former officer, who also works as a business manager, had already been suspended from the force pending the proceedings against him.

Mr James said the relevant paperwork had been served to Parkin, but he had not signed the documents.

He said Parkin had made no application to adjourn the hearing, and policy allowed it to continue in his absence.

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He added that he had sent an email on May 7 confirming he would not be attending, but had not indicated whether or not he accepted that his behaviour amounted to gross misconduct.

PC Gary Taitt, attending from the Police Federation, said he had received no instruction from Parkin therefore could not make any representation on his behalf.

It is the third misconduct hearing reported on at Thames Valley Police in less than a week.

Last Tuesday, the Police Appeals Tribunal overturned the dismissal of Sergeant Colin Travi, who was found guilty of gross misconduct in 2017.

He was dismissed for repeatedly punching a prisoner at Abingdon Police Station, but he will now be reinstated following the tribunal's ruling.

On Friday, Didcot-based police constable James Blowers was found guilty of misconduct for causing a serious crash while speeding in a police car near Wallingford.

He was allowed to keep his job, however, after strong-worded testimonies were shared in his favour from colleagues and superiors.

Speaking at the hearing today, Mr James said public confidence is 'crucial' to policing.