A police officer who warned off a firefighter for having a fling with his wife after discovering they had sex in a Morrisons car park today quit halfway through his misconduct hearing - only to be sacked hours later.

North Yorkshire PC Christopher Parnell paid a home visit to his wife's toyboy Robert Billings, 28, asking to see texts on his phone and leaving him 'scared and intimidated.'

PC Parnell's threatening behaviour put his career on the line but today he decided to resign part way through the hearing saying the case was 'exceptionally difficult' for him and his family.

Despite resigning from the force this morning, PC Parnell was dismissed when the hearing resumed this afternoon as panel chairman Tom Mitchell said based on the evidence he had committed gross misconduct.

Robert Billings started having an affair with Kath Parnell, 49, last July and she told a friend at the gym but the news found its way back to her heartbroken husband.

Her lover allegedly said he would pay £1,500 to have her 'buried on the moors' when it became public and he also went to her home and began swearing at her in front of her daughter.

PC Christopher Parnell has now been sacked over his behaviour after he discovered his wife Kath (pictured together) was having an affair with a toyboy firefighter

Mrs Parnell (left) confided in a friend at her gym about the affair with Robert Billings (right), who later threatened to have her 'buried on a moor' and confessed they had sex outside Morrisons after their relationship emerged

The chairman of the disciplinary panel, Tom Mitchell, admitted that his behaviour fell short of expected standards and he had failed to show his love rival 'respect and courtesy'.

Mr Mitchell also revealed the next part of the hearing was to consider if the now former policeman unlawfully accessed the force's database on 37 occasions.

Pictured: PC Parnell's wife Kath who allegedly had an affair with a 28-year-old firefighter

He said: 'PC Parnell is a police officer, which was known to Robert Billings. He carried with him the authority of the law and that would have emboldened him.

'We find PC Parnell abused the authority vested in him and failed to show him due respect and courtesy.

He added 'If this was the only matter PC Parnell would have faced we would have found this matter to be serious.

'But bearing in mind the circumstances that led to this it would have led to misconduct just short of gross misconduct.'

Panel chairman Tom Mitchell concluded: 'We have read material submitted on PC Parnell's behalf by the police federation and his counsel.

'We know that for many years, and on many occasions, PC Parnell executed his duty well and prior to these matters had no convictions or disciplinary findings to his name. Nonetheless, taking all the concessions and findings in this case lead us to inevitably conclude that the only appropriate sanction available in this case is dismissal without notice.'

The next part of the hearing looked at whether he had unlawfully accessed NICHE, the police recording system.

It is alleged he accessed the system on 37 occasions without an appropriate policing purpose between April 2011 and January 2017.

Mr Mitchell added: 'PC Parnell's most serious transgression related to the serious transgression of his repeated and unlawful access to the North Yorkshire Police NICHE computer system.

'Every citizen has the right to expect the police officers will respect their privacy and not invade it except with good and sufficient cause.

'It was clear from PC Parnell's evidence in this case that he knew his access to that system was wrong. What we find at this stage is he always knew that to be so. That fact is widely accepted and known as a declared corporate policy.

'Unless there be any confusion all officers and the public at large should know that unlawful access of confidential information will inevitably be regarded as a severe breach of the required professional standard of confidentiality.

'This is all the more true when, as here, the system was used to gain personal information about people with whom PC Parnell personally associated.

'It is however, important to note that there is no evidence that PC Parnell disclosed anything he discovered to anyone else.'

The panel was also due to look at whether he held undeclared business interests.

But PC Parnell announced through his barrister that he was going to resign.

His barrister, Michael Rawlinson said: 'I've taken some instructions from PC Parnell and he will not be seeking to dissuade you from a finding in due course regarding the outcome that dismissal is appropriate in this case.

'With credit to PC Parnell he had expressed the view that he has found these proceedings exceptionally difficult from a personal point of view.

'They have in some cases been inaccurately reported in the papers.

'In order to preserve his own dignity and the dignity of his family and the office of constable and North Yorkshire Police he doesn't wish to prolong or elongate these proceedings. '

PC Parnell is accused of paying a home visit to his wife's toyboy, asking to see texts on his phone and leaving him 'scared and intimidated.'

During the meeting Mr Billings was recorded telling his love rival he had sex with Mrs Parnell in a vehicle parked in the car park at the local Morrisons store, believed to have been in Boroughbridge north of York.

Mr Billings reportedly said: 'I will never do it again. It was in Morrisons car park. It was disgusting.'

His older lover has not attended her estranged husband's misconduct hearing but said last night: 'I am in shock, I was not expecting all this over something better suited to the Jeremy Kyle show'.

PC Parnell's alleged threatening behaviour has put his career on the line and he is now facing a public disciplinary case.

The hearing, at the force's headquarters in Northallerton, had heard earlier that the odd job man and retained firefighter, who then lived in Boroughbridge, had begun an affair with PC Parnell's wife in July last year.

The Harrogate-based police officer learnt about the affair from another woman in the town after his fitness fanatic wife confided in a friend at the gym she regularly attended.

The woman also told the officer that the firefighter had made a threat against his wife.

She said that he told another woman in Boroughbridge: 'She doesn't know who she is dealing with. I'm from Leeds. I can pay £1,500 and have her buried on the moors.'

The firefighter then went to the family home of the Parnells to speak to her and began swearing at her in front of their daughter.

The panel heard PC Parnell went to the Boroughbridge home of the man three days later.

The firefighter later reported the visit to North Yorkshire Police, saying he felt threatened by it.

A recording of the conversation taken at the time by the police officer showed the officer asking if he could come in and have a chat and later asking if he could see his phone messages, which the firefighter agreed to.

Edward Pleeth, representing North Yorkshire Police, asked PC Parnell if the man felt intimidated by his visit because he was using his physical presence to intimidate him. The police officer added he 'wasn't that kind of person', saying in addition to using restraint and not wanting to lose his job, he wasn't violent and had never been in a fight in his life.

Mr Pleeth told the panel the officer must have known his presence would be intimidating.

Parnell outside a hearing in North Yorkshire and he resigned today only to be fired later on

He told the panel: 'He must have understood that a wronged husband turning up at the address of the man who he had recently found out had had a relationship and slept with his wife was going to be perceived in those circumstances as threatening.'

However PC Parnell's barrister, Michael Rawlinson said if the allegations from Mr Billings were upheld, 'it would mean no serving police officer would ever be able to express his displeasure'.

Mr Rawlinson added: 'They would never be able to express their displeasure to somebody who had committed a great moral wrong against them.

'It is wildly inappropriate to think any member of the public would think any police force had been discredited if they knew and realised what had occurred here.

'There's no evidence Mr Billings at the time was actually fearful because the recordings show this case for what it is; a grown-up conversation between two grown-ups about a very personal and unpleasant and sordid situation.'

The hearing has earlier been told that on August 11 Mr Billings went to the home of PC Parnell and his wife. The hearing was told the couple's daughter answered the door and he asked to speak to her mother.

The retained fire officer with North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue then told Kath Parnell that the public knowledge of their affair had 'ruined his life' and he would have to go and confess the affair to his girlfriend.

He told the panel: 'I asked if Chris Parnell knew and she said, 'no', and asked me to cover it up by saying it was a lie and that she wanted attention. I said, 'no, it's come out now I wanted to tell my partner the truth.'

The next morning, he saw PC Parnell drive down his street at about 5.50am after he had returned home after taking the dog for a walk and said he felt 'worried and scared'.

Mr Billings was recorded telling his love rival he had sex with Mrs Parnell in a vehicle parked in the car park at the local Morrisons store, believed to have been in Boroughbridge north of York (pictured)

Later, Robert Billings rang PC Parnell and left him a voicemail, saying he was sorry for what had happened and 'didn't want to cause any harm' and invited him to speak privately with him.

He also told him in the message he felt intimidated by seeing him driving along his street.

Mrs Parnell has not attended the hearing, with PC Parnell accompanied only by his elderly parents.

She said her relationship with Mr Billings was 'hardly an affair' although she conceded he had a girlfriend at the time.

Mrs Parnell said she and her husband had been separated since 2016, adding: 'We have not been together for some time, we have been separated since 2016 and the Rob thing was last year.

'He (Rob) was engaged to somebody, it was all so incestuous and so gross.'