A Met Police officer who sent 1,000 texts to his ex-girlfriend in three weeks has been sacked. PC Joshua Anning bombarded her with messages despite her asking him to stop and turned up to her work event uninvited.

He even made an appearance at her local train station, a hybrid misconduct hearing at Sutton Police Station on Wednesday (19 June) heard. After she phoned the police about his behaviour in March this year, PC Anning was charged with controlling and coercive behaviour and bailed.

The charges were later dropped and he pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of harassment at Kingston Crown Court on 12 April. At a sentencing hearing at the same court on 31 May, he was handed a 12-month community order and told to complete unpaid work and rehab.

In a victim impact statement, his ex-girlfriend said she believed that she tolerated PC Anning's behaviour for longer than should have because he was a member of the police. She described how she felt 'bullied' during their relationship and said her work life had been 'disrupted' by his behaviour.

PC Anning,  who as based at the Met's Central South Command Unit covering Lambeth and Southwark, said that emotional issues had clouded his better judgement.

Pippa Mills, assistant commissioner and chair of the misconduct hearing, said PC Anning's behaviour amounted to gross misconduct and risked undermining public trust in the police service.

She said: "It's wholly unacceptable for a police officer to break the law and by doing so public confidence is likely to be implicated. In terms of aggravating factors, his actions were targeted towards the complainant over a sustained period of time.

"I consider any outcome less than dismissal would not deter others from similar conduct. As such, my decision is that PC Anning is dismissed without notice."

PC Anning was absent from the hearing and informed the Met beforehand that he wouldn't be attending.