A GWENT Police sergeant has admitted to misconduct and letting down his colleagues after leaving his station during shifts to go home.

Sergeant Lee Stephens, of Bargoed Police Station, admitted to four allegations of misconduct in a public hearing inquiry yesterday, but stated that he does not believe any of the allegations amount to gross misconduct.

The allegations are that during 12 of 15 shifts worked between September 22, 2017 and October 15, 2017, Stephens left his duties without authorisation in order to spend time with his partner.

The hearing was told that aggravating factors in these allegations included the sergeant using a marked police car and being in uniform.

One incident saw Sergeant Stephens state he was in a meeting in Blackwood Police Station from 11pm on October 5, 2017. However, it was discovered via a mapping system that Sergeant Stephens was at his home in Thornhill, Cardiff.

The hearing was told that for 12 out of 15 shifts, the sergeant was travelling to meet his partner on his breaks, with the longest excursion lasting an hour and 40 minutes.

Prosecuting officer on behalf of Gwent Police Barnabas Branston said: “You said that you were having problems with your partner but you uploaded a picture of the both of you on Facebook, smiling and happy.”

Sergeant Stephens said the issues arose from his partner having problems due to a previous relationship and claimed he believed his she could have been suicidal. He said he “could not help” but take these problems into work.

He said: “I thought I could juggle personal issues with work and looking back now I realise I couldn’t do both.

“I was juggling both my family and my partner. If I know what I had done now I would have accessed a GP and got some time off work.

“I have let my team down.”

Witness PC Fiona Richards spoke about the fourth allegation where Stephens was said to be in a meeting in Blackwood, when he was later found to have gone home after the meeting before heading back to Bargoed.

PC Richards said that on the night in question she had tried to find Stephens in the station, only to discover that he was not there.

Mr Branston said: “You tried to reach him on point to point system and he answered saying he had not long finished the meeting and he was driving around but would be back later.”

However, PC Richards said she did not believe Sergeant Stephens to be a dishonest person.

Defending officer Tim Evans, speaking to PC Richards, said: “You did not consider him dishonest. He is an honest person who makes foolish decisions.”

Sergeant Stephens apologised for his misconduct.

It will be decided today by the panel if the events that took place were misconduct or gross misconduct.