The force found he had breached "standards of professional behaviour" after claims he "attempted to disguise" the mistake.

Last week, a disciplinary hearing ruled that he "took a number of actions, being reckless as to the likely damage to the police property" and found him guilty of gross misconduct. Mr Gatehouse, who admitted wrongly fuelling the car but denied the misconduct allegations, was dismissed with immediate effect.

Now, he 52-year-old, from Nottingham, has told The Daily Telegraph he was dismissed after the force claimed he knew he had put the wrong fuel in the vehicle but deliberately drove round in an attempt to burn it off.

He was also accused of misdirecting a recovery garage after the vehicle broke down after he told them it was a problem with the immobiliser instead of the fuel.

"They are saying I covered it up afterwards... but I didn't know I put the wrong fuel in," he claimed. "They are saying I told them it was an immobiliser and I misdirected the garage, but I didn't because I didn't know."