A murder squad detective who lied about being attacked by her partner's ex has been allowed to keep her job.

Detective Constable Gemma Aveyard, 36, claimed Nicola Caulfield, 30, barged into her home, stormed upstairs and threatened her, pointing her car keys at her face.

Mrs Caulfield was issued with a harassment warning and was facing arrest until she provided a secret recording of the incident which proved the police officer had lied.

The incident happened in April 2016 when Nicola Caulfield (pictured), who was married to DC Aveyard's partner, Sergeant Duncan Caulfield, 42, went round to her house

In it, the two women can be heard having an amicable conversation about bunkbeds before Mrs Caulfield, says 'don't push me'.

The incident happened in April 2016 when Mrs Caulfield, who was married to DC Aveyard's partner, Sergeant Duncan Caulfield, 42, went round to her house.

She asked if she could go upstairs, as her daughters were asking her to look at the bunk beds.

DC Aveyard later told officers her partner's ex-wife had made her feel threatened, and Mrs Caulfield was issued with a Police Information Notice warning her about harassment.

But Cleveland Police dropped the investigation and launched one into DC Aveyard after Mrs Caulfield, herself a former police officer, produced the recording.

She reported her husband's new girlfriend to the force's Professional Standards Department for lying about the incident which carried out an internal inquiry.

But bosses have now ruled the detective should be allowed to remain in her post, in part because she had recently had a baby.

Investigators listened to the tape found DC Aveyard's account had been 'dishonest' and breached police standards of honesty and integrity, a report said. It concluded that she 'had a case to answer for gross misconduct'.

It said DC Aveyard also later questioned the truth of the statements made by offic-ers who attended her house after the altercation – something they were said to find 'deeply offen-sive' in the report.

However, when senior officers looked at the case they decided to take no further action, in part be-cause DC Aveyard, from Middlesbrough, had had a baby three months before the incident.

Mrs Caulfield, of Norton, Stockton-on-Tees criticised the decision.

She said: 'What the report didn't show is the massive impact this has had on my life.

'I have major trust issues and zero faith in the police service I once worked for. I document everything, not because I want to but because I have been forced to, and I'm so sick of this.

'I'm actually in the process of installing a CCTV system on my house to protect me from any future al-legations made to the police, which is something that I feel I shouldn't have to do but I have to protect myself.'

A spokeswoman for Cleveland Police said: 'We received a complaint relating to an officer which was investigated.

'A final assessment of conduct deemed that there was no case to answer and that no further discipli-nary action should be taken. The complainant has appealed this decision to the Independent Police Complaints Commission therefore we are unable to comment further at this time.'

Sgt. Caulfield and DC Aveyard, who live together in Middlesbrough, declined to comment yesterday.